Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension Purchases New Position in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension acquired a new stake in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 62,693 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $22,572,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Acuity by 50,220.2% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 2,268,433 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $676,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,263,925 shares during the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP increased its stake in shares of Acuity by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,363,619 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $469,617,000 after purchasing an additional 113,720 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Acuity by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 815,050 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $280,695,000 after purchasing an additional 17,011 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in shares of Acuity by 6,496.7% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 692,189 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $249,216,000 after purchasing an additional 681,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Acuity by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 633,060 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $218,071,000 after purchasing an additional 58,085 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Acuity

In other news, Director Laura O’shaughnessy bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $282.98 per share, for a total transaction of $282,980.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 3,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $880,350.78. This represents a 47.37% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Maya Leibman bought 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $288.83 per share, for a total transaction of $57,766.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $115,532. This represents a 100.00% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AYI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Acuity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Acuity from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Acuity from $342.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Acuity from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $369.17.

Acuity Price Performance

AYI stock opened at $281.38 on Friday. Acuity, Inc. has a 12-month low of $253.03 and a 12-month high of $380.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $280.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $320.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.32.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 2nd. The electronics maker reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.11 by $0.03. Acuity had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.45 earnings per share. Acuity’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

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

About Acuity

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.