Millennium Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

Millennium Management LLC cut its position in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 66.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,105 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 156,629 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned 0.26% of Acuity Brands worth $23,401,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Acuity Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Acuity Brands in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Acuity Brands by 50.5% in 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 last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Acuity Brands by 63.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 172 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in Acuity Brands by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Acuity Brands Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of AYI stock opened at $269.50 on Wednesday. Acuity Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $216.81 and a 12 month high of $345.30. The company has a market cap of $8.33 billion, a PE ratio of 19.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.60. 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 $252.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $292.59.

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

Acuity Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.25%. Acuity Brands's dividend payout ratio is currently 5.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on AYI shares. Morgan Stanley set a $335.00 target price on shares of Acuity Brands in a report on Friday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Acuity Brands from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Acuity Brands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Acuity Brands presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.

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