AG Campbell Advisory LLC Acquires Shares of 2,219 Acuity, Inc. $AYI

AG Campbell Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,219 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $799,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AYI. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Acuity by 98.4% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 571,017 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $196,653,000 after purchasing an additional 283,203 shares during the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in Acuity during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,019,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Acuity by 2.1% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 815,050 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $280,695,000 after purchasing an additional 17,011 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Acuity by 499.6% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 164,275 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $59,145,000 after purchasing an additional 136,879 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in Acuity during the third quarter worth about $54,514,000. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on AYI shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Acuity from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Acuity from $342.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut Acuity from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Acuity from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $369.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Acuity

In other news, Director Maya Leibman acquired 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were 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 $115,532. This represents a 100.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura O’shaughnessy acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $282.98 per share, for a total transaction of $282,980.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 3,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $880,350.78. This trade represents a 47.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Acuity Stock Down 0.1%

AYI stock opened at $317.28 on Friday. Acuity, Inc. has a 12 month low of $257.04 and a 12 month high of $380.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.62 billion, a PE ratio of 23.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $292.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $309.44. 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 (NYSE:AYI) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 9.37%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 17th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 17th. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.87%.

Acuity Company 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.