Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) Shares Sold by Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. decreased its position in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,604 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 4,412 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned about 0.19% of Acuity Brands worth $17,412,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AYI. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Acuity Brands by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,110 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $581,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Acuity Brands by 479.2% during the fourth quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 307 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $290,000. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $202,000. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $516,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Acuity Brands Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:AYI traded up $1.39 on Friday, hitting $273.23. The stock had a trading volume of 145,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 303,898. 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 stock has a market cap of $8.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.12, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $251.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $292.99. Acuity Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $216.81 and a 1-year high of $345.30.

Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. Acuity Brands had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 19.98%. Acuity Brands's revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.38 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Acuity Brands, Inc. will post 15.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.25%. Acuity Brands's payout ratio is 5.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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