Quantinno Capital Management LP Raises Holdings in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,746 shares of the electronics maker's stock after purchasing an additional 3,083 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.12% of Acuity Brands worth $11,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Acuity Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Acuity Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in Acuity Brands by 50.5% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 161 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Acuity Brands by 63.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 172 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in shares of Acuity Brands by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Acuity Brands Stock Performance

AYI traded down $0.23 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $270.81. 30,085 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 302,551. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Acuity Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $216.81 and a 1-year high of $345.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $251.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $292.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.89, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.60.

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

Acuity Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 18th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. Acuity Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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