Evolve Private Wealth LLC Acquires New Stake in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Evolve Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 11,307 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $4,071,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Acuity by 8,338.5% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,097 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Acuity by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 76,543 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $20,158,000 after buying an additional 11,144 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Acuity by 372.7% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 208 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in Acuity by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,134 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $637,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Acuity in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $762,000. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Acuity

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

Acuity Price Performance

Acuity stock opened at $305.59 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $291.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $309.73. The stock has a market cap of $9.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.31. Acuity, Inc. has a 12-month low of $257.04 and a 12-month high of $380.17.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 2nd. The electronics maker reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.11 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 9.37%.Acuity’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.45 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 17th. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on AYI shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Acuity from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Acuity from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Acuity from $342.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Acuity from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Acuity has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $369.17.

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.