Acuity (NYSE:AYI) Director Buys $22,069.36 in Stock

Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) Director Laura O’shaughnessy bought 73 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $302.32 per share, for a total transaction of $22,069.36. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 3,184 shares in the company, valued at $962,586.88. This trade represents a 2.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Acuity Price Performance

Acuity stock opened at $316.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.48 billion, a PE ratio of 16.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.30. Acuity, Inc. has a 52-week low of $257.04 and a 52-week high of $380.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company’s 50 day moving average is $318.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $315.00.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The electronics maker reported $5.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.57 by $0.20. Acuity had a net margin of 11.45% and a return on equity of 20.30%. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.20 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Acuity, Inc. will post 20.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 16th. Acuity’s payout ratio is presently 4.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AYI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Acuity from $410.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Acuity from $440.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. William Blair lowered shares of Acuity from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Acuity currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $374.20.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Acuity

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AYI. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Acuity in the second quarter valued at $1,121,983,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Acuity by 8.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 635,160 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $177,970,000 after buying an additional 47,880 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Acuity during the 2nd quarter worth about $106,018,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Acuity by 32.2% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 378,006 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $105,925,000 after buying an additional 92,094 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Acuity during the 2nd quarter worth about $77,212,000. 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.