Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 48,549 Shares of Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,961,831 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 48,549 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of Acuity worth $1,066,378,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AYI. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Acuity by 8,338.5% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,097 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Acuity by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 76,543 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $20,158,000 after purchasing an additional 11,144 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Acuity by 372.7% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 208 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Acuity by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,134 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Acuity in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $762,000. Institutional investors own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Acuity Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of AYI stock opened at $289.55 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $281.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $324.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.36. Acuity, Inc. has a 1 year low of $242.56 and a 1 year high of $380.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.23, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.32.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 17th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Acuity’s payout ratio is presently 5.87%.

Insider Transactions at Acuity

In other Acuity news, Director Laura O’shaughnessy bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $282.98 per share, with a total value of $282,980.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $880,350.78. The trade was a 47.37% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AYI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Acuity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Acuity from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Acuity from $342.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Acuity from $425.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Acuity has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $369.17.

Acuity Company Profile

Acuity Brands, Inc (NYSE: AYI) is a leading provider of lighting fixtures, controls and building management solutions designed for commercial, institutional, industrial and residential markets. The company’s core offerings include a broad range of LED luminaires, lighting controls, sensors and networked building systems that enhance energy efficiency, occupant comfort and operational productivity. Acuity Brands’ portfolio spans indoor and outdoor lighting fixtures, emergency lighting, task lighting and architectural products, as well as advanced controls such as daylight harvesting, occupancy sensing and wireless sensor networks.

Beyond traditional lighting, Acuity Brands delivers integrated digital solutions through its Connected Building platform, which combines smart sensors, cloud-based analytics and mobile applications to enable real-time monitoring and remote management of lighting and environmental systems.