Acuity, Inc. $AYI Shares Purchased by Horizon Investments LLC

Horizon Investments LLC increased its stake in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 20.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,473 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,146 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC owned 0.06% of Acuity worth $6,651,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AYI. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Acuity in the third quarter worth $26,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Acuity during the third quarter worth $33,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Acuity by 122.2% during the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 100 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Acuity by 5,200.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 106 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Acuity Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE AYI opened at $289.55 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.78 billion, a PE ratio of 21.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a fifty day moving average of $281.53 and a 200 day moving average of $324.65. Acuity, Inc. has a 1 year low of $242.56 and a 1 year high of $380.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.36.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th were issued a $0.20 dividend. 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 payout ratio is 5.87%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Laura O’shaughnessy bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $282.98 per share, for a total transaction of $282,980.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 3,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $880,350.78. This represents a 47.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AYI. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on 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 upgraded Acuity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Friday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Acuity from $425.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Acuity from $342.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $369.17.

About Acuity

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.