Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 62,800 Shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its holdings in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 87.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,944 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 62,800 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Acuity were worth $2,355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AYI. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Acuity in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in Acuity in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Acuity by 50.5% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 161 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in shares of Acuity by 40.9% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Acuity by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 250 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Acuity Stock Performance

NYSE AYI traded up $10.33 on Wednesday, hitting $281.36. 46,287 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 304,746. Acuity, Inc. has a 12 month low of $216.81 and a 12 month high of $345.30. The business's fifty day moving average is $255.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $284.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.32, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.95.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The electronics maker reported $3.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. Acuity had a net margin of 10.53% and a return on equity of 19.73%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.38 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Acuity, Inc. will post 15.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. Acuity's payout ratio is currently 5.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Acuity from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Acuity from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Acuity from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $335.00 target price on shares of Acuity in a report on Friday, April 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $323.60.

Acuity Profile

Acuity Brands, Inc provides lighting, lighting controls, building management system, location-aware applications in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Acuity Brands Lighting and Lighting Controls (ABL); and the Intelligent Spaces Group (ISG). The ABL segment provides commercial, architectural, and specialty lighting solutions, as well as lighting controls and components for various indoor and outdoor applications under the A-Light, Aculux, American Electric Lighting, Cyclone, Dark to Light, eldoLED, Eureka, Gotham, Healthcare Lighting, Holophane, Hydrel, Indy, IOTA, Juno, Lithonia Lighting, Luminaire LED, Luminis, Mark Architectural Lighting, nLight, OPTOTRONIC, Peerless, RELOCWiring Solutions, and Sensor Switch.