Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Lowers Stake in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC cut its position in shares of Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,170 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 1,151 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Acuity Brands worth $3,927,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aurora Investment Counsel grew its position in Acuity Brands by 0.8% in the third quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 5,938 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,011,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. SouthState Corp grew its holdings in Acuity Brands by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 1,854 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in Acuity Brands by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 5,464 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $891,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Acuity Brands by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 402 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Acuity Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AYI opened at $251.68 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $7.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.49. The company’s fifty day moving average is $255.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $215.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Acuity Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.30 and a 12-month high of $272.74.

Acuity Brands Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Acuity Brands

In other Acuity Brands news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 7,745 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.24, for a total value of $2,031,048.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 20,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,320,062.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Acuity Brands news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 7,745 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 20,287 shares in the company, valued at $5,320,062.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Dianne S. Mills sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.11, for a total value of $1,350,660.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,925,590.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.