Cooke & Bieler LP Reduces Stock Holdings in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

Cooke & Bieler LP lowered its position in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 602,584 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 14,390 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP owned approximately 1.96% of Acuity Brands worth $123,427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in Acuity Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,000. AIA Group Ltd grew its position in Acuity Brands by 84.3% during the 4th quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 4,457 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $913,000 after purchasing an additional 2,039 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC grew its position in Acuity Brands by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 3,811 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $781,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Acuity Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,811,000. Finally, Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Acuity Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $782,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Acuity Brands Stock Performance

NYSE AYI traded up $0.20 on Friday, hitting $247.06. 253,770 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 269,717. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Acuity Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.30 and a 1-year high of $272.74. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $255.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $217.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.61 billion, a PE ratio of 20.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.49.

Acuity Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 17th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 16th. Acuity Brands's dividend payout ratio is currently 5.02%.

Insider Activity at Acuity Brands

In related news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 7,745 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.24, for a total value of $2,031,048.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,320,062.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on AYI. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Acuity Brands from $250.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Acuity Brands from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Acuity Brands from $227.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Acuity Brands from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Acuity Brands from $236.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $289.25.

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.