Handelsbanken Fonder AB Raises Holdings in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 70.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,800 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after buying an additional 2,400 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Acuity Brands were worth $1,188,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AYI. Sound Shore Management Inc CT purchased a new stake in Acuity Brands in the third quarter worth about $61,001,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Acuity Brands by 41.5% in the third quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 844,969 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $143,907,000 after acquiring an additional 247,774 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of Acuity Brands by 35.8% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 709,647 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $120,585,000 after acquiring an additional 187,128 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Schwerin Boyle Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Acuity Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $17,321,000. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 7,745 shares of Acuity Brands stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,320,062.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 7,745 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.24, for a total value of $2,031,048.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,287 shares in the company, valued at $5,320,062.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Maya Leibman acquired 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $248.91 per share, with a total value of $49,782.00. Following the acquisition, 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 Trading Up 0.2 %

AYI stock opened at $252.16 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $257.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $219.84. Acuity Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.30 and a fifty-two week high of $272.74. The firm has a market cap of $7.77 billion, a PE ratio of 21.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.59.

Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 3rd. The electronics maker reported $3.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.85 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $905.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $897.01 million. Acuity Brands had a net margin of 9.81% and a return on equity of 21.22%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Acuity Brands, Inc. will post 14.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Brands Dividend Announcement

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

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.