Acuity, Inc. $AYI Shares Bought by California State Teachers Retirement System

California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 35,316.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,575,171 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after buying an additional 12,539,664 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.42% of Acuity worth $4,736,564,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,121,983,000. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 2,263,925 shares in the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in Acuity by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,363,619 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $469,617,000 after acquiring an additional 113,720 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Acuity by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 635,160 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $177,970,000 after acquiring an additional 47,880 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in Acuity by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 633,060 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $218,071,000 after acquiring an additional 58,085 shares in the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Karen Holcom sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.62, for a total value of $659,240.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 17,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,750,880.14. This trade represents a 10.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Acuity Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE:AYI opened at $321.51 on Thursday. Acuity, Inc. has a 12-month low of $257.04 and a 12-month high of $380.17. The firm has a market cap of $9.63 billion, a PE ratio of 21.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $340.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $309.20.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 10.25%.Acuity’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.12 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 17th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 17th. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AYI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $465.00 target price on shares of Acuity in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Acuity presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.17.

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.