Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Sells 20,332 Shares of Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lessened its holdings in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 31.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 43,320 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 20,332 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned 0.14% of Acuity Brands worth $89,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AYI. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in Acuity Brands by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 224,289 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $45,941,000 after purchasing an additional 4,694 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Acuity Brands by 17.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,103,793 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $187,987,000 after purchasing an additional 161,818 shares during the period. Pathstone Family Office LLC lifted its position in Acuity Brands by 12.7% during the third quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 6,936 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 784 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Acuity Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $108,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Acuity Brands during the third quarter worth about $414,000. Institutional investors own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Acuity Brands

In other news, Director Maya Leibman bought 200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $248.91 per share, with a total value of $49,782.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $49,782. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 7,745 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.24, for a total transaction of $2,031,048.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,287 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,320,062.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Maya Leibman acquired 200 shares of Acuity Brands stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $248.91 per share, with a total value of $49,782.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 200 shares in the company, valued at $49,782. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Acuity Brands Stock Performance

Shares of Acuity Brands stock remained flat at $262.88 on Friday. The stock had a trading volume of 218,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 207,470. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a fifty day moving average of $260.46 and a 200 day moving average of $232.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Acuity Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $149.30 and a one year high of $272.74.

Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 3rd. The electronics maker reported $3.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.85 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $905.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $897.01 million. Acuity Brands had a net margin of 9.81% and a return on equity of 21.22%. Equities analysts expect that Acuity Brands, Inc. will post 14.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Acuity Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 17th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 16th. Acuity Brands's dividend payout ratio is presently 5.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AYI has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Acuity Brands from $227.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Acuity Brands from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Acuity Brands from $250.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com raised Acuity Brands from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Acuity Brands from $236.00 to $286.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.