Acuity (NYSE:AYI) CFO Karen Holcom Sells 4,974 Shares

Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) CFO Karen Holcom sold 4,974 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.23, for a total transaction of $1,538,110.02. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 21,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,655,557.29. This trade represents a 18.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Acuity Price Performance

NYSE AYI traded down $4.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $309.21. 415,986 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 503,260. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $350.69 and its 200-day moving average is $340.97. Acuity, Inc. has a 52-week low of $216.81 and a 52-week high of $380.17. The company has a market capitalization of $9.48 billion, a PE ratio of 23.79, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.50.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 8th. The electronics maker reported $4.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.45 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Acuity had a net margin of 9.04% and a return on equity of 20.97%. Acuity’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.97 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Acuity, Inc. will post 15.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. This is a boost from Acuity’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 2nd. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.23%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Acuity

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AYI. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in Acuity by 50,220.2% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 2,268,433 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $676,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,263,925 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of Acuity by 6,496.7% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 692,189 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $249,216,000 after buying an additional 681,696 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Acuity in the 2nd quarter valued at $119,587,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Acuity in the second quarter worth about $115,595,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Acuity by 98.4% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 571,017 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $196,653,000 after buying an additional 283,203 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AYI. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Acuity from $380.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $375.00 price objective on Acuity in a report on Friday, January 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $395.17.

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.