Acuity (NYSE:AYI) Cut to “Market Perform” at William Blair

William Blair downgraded shares of Acuity (NYSE:AYI) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note published on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on AYI. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Acuity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, August 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $392.17.

Acuity Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of AYI stock opened at $311.95 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $331.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $311.38. Acuity has a twelve month low of $257.04 and a twelve month high of $380.17.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 16th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 16th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Acuity news, CFO Karen Holcom sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.62, for a total transaction of $659,240.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 17,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,750,880.14. The trade was a 10.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Acuity

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Acuity during the second quarter worth about $1,121,983,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of 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. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Acuity by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 570,088 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $205,296,000 after acquiring an additional 20,859 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity during the 4th quarter worth approximately $138,747,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Acuity by 32.2% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 378,006 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $105,925,000 after acquiring an additional 92,094 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Acuity Company Profile

Acuity (NYSE: AYI) is a technology company that provides lighting, lighting controls and building-management solutions for commercial, institutional, industrial and residential environments. Its products are designed to improve illumination, energy efficiency, automation and the overall performance of indoor and outdoor spaces.

The company offers a broad portfolio of lighting fixtures, controls, sensors and connected-building technologies. Its brands and product lines have included Lithonia Lighting, Holophane, Peerless, SensorSwitch, Distech Controls and Atrius.