McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. Boosts Stake in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. increased its position in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 7.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,243 shares of the electronics maker's stock after purchasing an additional 1,623 shares during the period. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Acuity Brands worth $6,384,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Acuity Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Acuity Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Acuity Brands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of Acuity Brands by 50.5% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Acuity Brands by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Acuity Brands Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:AYI traded down $5.38 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $269.01. 268,473 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 303,177. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business's 50 day moving average is $252.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $285.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.31 billion, a PE ratio of 19.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.60. Acuity Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $216.81 and a one year high of $345.30.

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

Acuity Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. Acuity Brands's payout ratio is currently 5.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Acuity Brands from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Acuity Brands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $335.00 price objective on Acuity Brands in a report on Friday, April 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Acuity Brands has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.