GAMMA Investing LLC Purchases 226,501 Shares of Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 29,415.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 227,271 shares of the electronics maker's stock after purchasing an additional 226,501 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned about 0.73% of Acuity Brands worth $59,852,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of Acuity Brands by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,142 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $1,210,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Acuity Brands by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 398 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Acuity Brands by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 951 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. raised its holdings in Acuity Brands by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 1,896 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $554,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Acuity Brands by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 790 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Acuity Brands Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE AYI traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $264.43. 358,996 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 301,816. Acuity Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $216.81 and a 52-week high of $345.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.38. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $250.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $287.98. The firm has a market cap of $8.17 billion, a PE ratio of 19.47, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.60.

Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The electronics maker reported $3.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. Acuity Brands had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 11.11%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.38 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Acuity Brands, Inc. will post 15.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 18th were paid 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 5.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AYI shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Acuity Brands from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Acuity Brands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $335.00 target price on Acuity Brands in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on 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. Three 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.com, Acuity Brands currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $317.60.

About Acuity Brands

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.