Maya Leibman Purchases 200 Shares of Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) Stock

Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) Director Maya Leibman acquired 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $248.91 per share, with a total value of $49,782.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,782. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Acuity Brands Stock Performance

Acuity Brands stock traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $252.16. The stock had a trading volume of 192,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 265,198. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $256.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $218.79. The company has a market capitalization of $7.77 billion, a PE ratio of 21.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.49. Acuity Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.30 and a 52-week high of $272.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Acuity Brands Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AYI. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Acuity Brands from $260.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com raised Acuity Brands from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Acuity Brands from $227.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Acuity Brands from $250.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Acuity Brands from $236.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $289.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Acuity Brands by 77.3% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 133 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Acuity Brands in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Acuity Brands by 5,666.7% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 173 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in Acuity Brands by 85.7% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 221 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Acuity Brands by 900.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 250 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.