31,768 Shares in Acuity, Inc. $AYI Purchased by Copeland Capital Management LLC

Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 31,768 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $8,902,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. increased its position in shares of Acuity by 176.5% during the first quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 44,803 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $12,555,000 after acquiring an additional 28,600 shares during the period. Twin Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity in the first quarter valued at approximately $781,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Acuity by 41.8% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 26,350 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $7,384,000 after purchasing an additional 7,766 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its stake in Acuity by 9.9% in the first quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 18,800 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $5,264,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in Acuity by 59.1% in the first quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AYI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Acuity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Oppenheimer set a $465.00 price target on Acuity in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Acuity from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.17.

Acuity Price Performance

NYSE AYI opened at $333.45 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.98 billion, a PE ratio of 22.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $314.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $305.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.05. Acuity, Inc. has a 52-week low of $257.04 and a 52-week high of $380.17.

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

Acuity Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. Acuity’s payout ratio is presently 5.31%.

Insider Activity at Acuity

In related news, Director Maya Leibman acquired 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $288.83 per share, for a total transaction of $57,766.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $115,532. This trade represents a 100.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

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.