226,168 Shares in Acuity, Inc. $AYI Acquired by Alua Capital Management LP

Alua Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 226,168 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $63,377,000. Acuity comprises 5.6% of Alua Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $676,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,263,925 shares during the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Acuity by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,363,619 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $469,617,000 after purchasing an additional 113,720 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in shares of Acuity by 6,496.7% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 692,189 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $249,216,000 after buying an additional 681,696 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Acuity by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 635,160 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $177,970,000 after buying an additional 47,880 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Acuity by 10.1% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 633,060 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $218,071,000 after buying an additional 58,085 shares during the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Acuity Price Performance

AYI stock opened at $330.36 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $318.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $304.56. The stock has a market cap of $9.89 billion, a PE ratio of 21.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. 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 results on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 10.25%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.12 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Acuity

In other Acuity news, Director Maya Leibman acquired 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $288.83 per share, with a total value of $57,766.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 400 shares in the company, valued at $115,532. This trade represents a 100.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AYI. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Acuity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 21st. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Acuity presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.17.

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.