Cresset Asset Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

Cresset Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 90.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 718 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 6,770 shares during the quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Acuity Brands were worth $210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Acuity Brands by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 911 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Acuity Brands by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,142 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,210,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Acuity Brands by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 398 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Acuity Brands by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 951 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Bailard Inc. grew its stake in shares of Acuity Brands by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 1,896 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $554,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Acuity Brands Stock Performance

NYSE AYI opened at $273.23 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business’s 50 day moving average is $251.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $292.99. Acuity Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $216.81 and a 12-month high of $345.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.12, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.60.

Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The electronics maker reported $3.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.06. Acuity Brands had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 11.11%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.38 EPS. Acuity Brands’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Acuity Brands, Inc. will post 15.86 EPS for the current year.

Acuity Brands Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Acuity Brands from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Acuity Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Acuity Brands from $290.00 to $275.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $335.00 price objective on Acuity Brands in a research note 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.