Acuity, Inc. $AYI Shares Sold by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC cut its position in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 25.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,749 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 3,020 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Acuity were worth $2,447,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in Acuity in the 4th quarter valued at $2,019,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Acuity by 499.6% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 164,275 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $59,145,000 after purchasing an additional 136,879 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Acuity by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 308,665 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $111,132,000 after purchasing an additional 83,936 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Acuity by 120.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,820 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $5,177,000 after purchasing an additional 7,543 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in Acuity by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 92,134 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $33,172,000 after purchasing an additional 21,118 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Acuity Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of AYI opened at $330.36 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $9.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $318.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $304.56. Acuity, Inc. has a twelve month low of $257.04 and a twelve month high of $380.17.

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 firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 10.25%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.12 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Acuity news, Director Maya Leibman bought 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $288.83 per share, with a total value of $57,766.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 400 shares in the company, valued at $115,532. This trade represents a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer set a $465.00 target price on Acuity in a research report on Friday, June 26th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Acuity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Acuity from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Acuity currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.17.

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.