Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Cuts Stock Holdings in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank reduced its position in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 4.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,748 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 1,185 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.08% of Acuity Brands worth $7,091,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Acuity Brands by 517.6% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 105 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity Brands during the third quarter valued at $35,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in Acuity Brands in the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Acuity Brands in the 3rd quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Acuity Brands by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 352 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. 98.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Acuity Brands Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of AYI stock opened at $320.69 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Acuity Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $176.93 and a 12 month high of $337.99. The stock has a market cap of $9.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $307.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $269.37.

Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The electronics maker reported $4.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.90 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. Acuity Brands had a return on equity of 20.49% and a net margin of 11.00%. Acuity Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.74 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Acuity Brands, Inc. will post 15.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Acuity Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. Acuity Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Acuity Brands from $289.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Acuity Brands from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Acuity Brands from $280.00 to $318.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Acuity Brands from $266.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Acuity Brands from $315.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Acuity Brands has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $324.00.

Insider Activity

In other Acuity Brands news, SVP Barry R. Goldman sold 5,120 shares of Acuity Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $1,561,600.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,573,590. The trade was a 37.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.