Acuity, Inc. $AYI Shares Sold by Strs Ohio

Strs Ohio trimmed its stake in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 88.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 738 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 5,927 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Acuity were worth $254,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new stake in Acuity in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Acuity by 1,100.0% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Acuity during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Acuity by 122.2% during the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 100 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of Acuity by 5,200.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 106 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Acuity Price Performance

NYSE:AYI opened at $316.85 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $349.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $342.01. Acuity, Inc. has a 52-week low of $216.81 and a 52-week high of $380.17. The firm has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.37, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.50.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 8th. The electronics maker reported $4.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. Acuity had a net margin of 9.04% and a return on equity of 20.97%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.97 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Acuity, Inc. will post 15.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. This is a positive change from Acuity’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Acuity’s payout ratio is 5.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on AYI. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Acuity in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Acuity from $425.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $375.00 target price on shares of Acuity in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Acuity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Acuity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $395.17.

Insider Transactions at Acuity

In other Acuity news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 4,974 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.23, for a total value of $1,538,110.02. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 21,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,655,557.29. This represents a 18.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

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.