Acuity, Inc. $AYI Shares Sold by Allianz Asset Management GmbH

Allianz Asset Management GmbH lessened its stake in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 211,156 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 4,653 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Acuity were worth $76,025,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Acuity by 8,338.5% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,097 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $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 in the last quarter. 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 in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake 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 stake in Acuity during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $762,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Acuity Price Performance

AYI stock opened at $280.87 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $288.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $311.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.52 billion, a PE ratio of 20.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.31. Acuity, Inc. has a 1 year low of $257.04 and a 1 year high of $380.17.

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

Acuity Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 17th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Maya Leibman purchased 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Laura O’shaughnessy purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on AYI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut 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. Weiss Ratings lowered Acuity from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Acuity from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Acuity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.