GAMMA Investing LLC Grows Position in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 8.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 770 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Acuity Brands were worth $225,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Acuity Brands by 517.6% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 105 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Acuity Brands in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Acuity Brands during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Acuity Brands during the third quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in Acuity Brands by 229.7% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 244 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Acuity Brands Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE AYI opened at $304.72 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.72. Acuity Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $204.34 and a one year high of $337.99. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $314.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $279.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.67, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.40.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Barry R. Goldman sold 5,120 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $1,561,600.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,573,590. This trade represents a 37.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AYI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Acuity Brands from $266.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. William Blair raised Acuity Brands from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Acuity Brands from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Acuity Brands from $315.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Acuity Brands from $280.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Acuity Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.00.

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.