Meeder Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 1,319.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,089 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after buying an additional 3,801 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Acuity were worth $1,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AYI. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in Acuity in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Acuity in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Acuity in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Acuity in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on AYI. Weiss Ratings upgraded Acuity from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Acuity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 21st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Acuity news, Director Maya Leibman bought 200 shares of Acuity stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $288.83 per share, for a total transaction of $57,766.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $115,532. This trade represents a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Acuity Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE AYI opened at $327.47 on Tuesday. Acuity, Inc. has a one year low of $257.04 and a one year high of $380.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $315.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $305.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.80 billion, a PE ratio of 21.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.27.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $0.14. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 10.25%.The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.12 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.28 EPS for the current year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 17th. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.31%.

Acuity 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.