Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Sells 4,412 Shares of Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

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

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AYI. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Acuity Brands by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,110 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $581,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Acuity Brands by 479.2% in 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 during the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group bought a new position in shares of Acuity Brands during the fourth quarter valued at $290,000. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity Brands during the fourth quarter valued at $202,000. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity Brands during the fourth quarter valued at $516,000. 98.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AYI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Acuity Brands from $290.00 to $275.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $335.00 target price on shares of Acuity Brands in a report on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Acuity Brands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Acuity Brands from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Acuity Brands presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $317.60.

Acuity Brands Stock Performance

AYI stock traded up $1.39 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $273.23. 145,626 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 303,607. The stock's 50-day moving average is $251.64 and its 200 day moving average is $293.32. The stock has a market cap of $8.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.12, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.60. Acuity Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $216.81 and a 52-week 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 released its 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 company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. Acuity Brands had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 19.98%. The firm's revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.38 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Acuity Brands, Inc. will post 15.86 EPS for the current year.

Acuity Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 18th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Acuity Brands 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.