Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Increases Stock Holdings in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its position in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 20.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,100 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,950 shares during the quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt owned 0.06% of Acuity worth $6,157,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Acuity by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 6,189 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $2,228,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Acuity in the 4th quarter valued at about $299,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Acuity by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 72,520 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $26,110,000 after buying an additional 2,487 shares during the period. Ellevest Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Acuity in the 4th quarter valued at about $239,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Acuity in the 4th quarter valued at about $138,747,000. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Acuity Trading Down 1.5%

AYI opened at $308.25 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.31. Acuity, Inc. has a 52 week low of $257.04 and a 52 week high of $380.17. The business’s 50 day moving average is $287.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $313.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 2nd. The electronics maker reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.11 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 9.37%.The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.45 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.06 EPS for the current year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 17th were given 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 5.87%.

Insider Activity at Acuity

In related news, Director Maya Leibman bought 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $288.83 per share, with a total value of $57,766.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,532. This trade represents a 100.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura O’shaughnessy bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $282.98 per share, for a total transaction of $282,980.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 3,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,350.78. This trade represents a 47.37% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Acuity 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.