Squarepoint Ops LLC Sells 7,629 Shares of Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

Squarepoint Ops LLC decreased its position in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 19.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,376 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 7,629 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned about 0.10% of Acuity Brands worth $9,458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. State of Wyoming increased its position in Acuity Brands by 159.6% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,046 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Global Advisors LLC grew its position in Acuity Brands by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Global Advisors LLC now owns 7,888 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $2,304,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its position in Acuity Brands by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 28,260 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $8,256,000 after acquiring an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Acuity Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Acuity Brands Price Performance

NYSE:AYI traded down $1.62 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $260.09. 59,624 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 354,678. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $251.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $290.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.04 billion, a PE ratio of 19.17, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.60. Acuity Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $216.81 and a 1-year 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.

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

Acuity Brands 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 given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. Acuity Brands's dividend payout ratio is currently 5.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AYI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $335.00 price target on shares of Acuity Brands in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Acuity Brands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird cut 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Acuity Brands from $290.00 to $275.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.