Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) Shares Sold by Cresset Asset Management LLC

Cresset Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 90.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 718 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 6,770 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC's holdings in Acuity Brands were worth $210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Acuity Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Acuity Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in Acuity Brands by 50.5% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 161 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Acuity Brands by 63.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 172 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in Acuity Brands by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Acuity Brands Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE AYI traded down $2.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $260.22. 139,207 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 303,626. Acuity Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $216.81 and a 12 month high of $345.30. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.04 billion, a PE ratio of 19.16, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a 50 day moving average of $251.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $291.49.

Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 3rd. The electronics maker reported $3.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.06. Acuity Brands had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 19.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.38 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Acuity Brands, Inc. will post 15.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Acuity Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 18th were given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. Acuity Brands's payout ratio is currently 5.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on AYI. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Acuity Brands from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Acuity Brands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Acuity Brands from $290.00 to $275.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $335.00 price objective on shares of Acuity Brands in a research note 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $317.60.

Acuity Brands Company 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.