Acuity (NYSE:AYI) SVP Barry Goldman Sells 3,800 Shares of Company Stock

Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) SVP Barry Goldman sold 3,800 shares of Acuity stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.48, for a total transaction of $1,221,624.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 6,580 shares in the company, valued at $2,115,338.40. This trade represents a 36.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Acuity Price Performance

Shares of AYI opened at $323.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $316.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $309.92. Acuity, Inc. has a one year low of $257.04 and a one year high of $380.17. The company has a market cap of $9.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.90 and a beta of 1.30.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The electronics maker reported $5.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.57 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.20 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Acuity, Inc. will post 20.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 16th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 16th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AYI shares. Wall Street Zen cut Acuity from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Acuity from $360.00 to $348.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 2nd. William Blair downgraded shares of Acuity from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Acuity from $410.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $374.20.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Acuity

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BOKF NA grew its stake in shares of Acuity by 2.9% in the third quarter. BOKF NA now owns 11,405 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $3,533,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC raised its position in Acuity by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC now owns 1,599 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Hedeker Wealth LLC raised its position in Acuity by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hedeker Wealth LLC now owns 20,229 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $6,267,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Acuity by 41.6% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Acuity by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,716 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $532,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

About Acuity

Acuity (NYSE: AYI), formerly known as Acuity Brands, is a technology company focused on improving how people experience and manage indoor and outdoor spaces. Its businesses develop lighting, lighting controls, building-management systems and related solutions for commercial, institutional, industrial and residential applications.

The company’s offerings include LED lighting fixtures, connected lighting systems, sensors, controls, building automation technologies and location-aware software.