Acuity, Inc. $AYI Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 231,144 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 5,795 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Acuity were worth $83,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AYI. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Acuity by 8,338.5% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,097 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Acuity during the 2nd quarter worth about $762,000. 98.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Laura O’shaughnessy purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was acquired 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 trade represents a 47.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Maya Leibman purchased 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $288.83 per share, with a total value of $57,766.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $115,532. The trade was a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Acuity Stock Down 1.8%

Acuity stock opened at $296.60 on Tuesday. Acuity, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $257.04 and a fifty-two week high of $380.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 2.07. The company has a market capitalization of $8.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.75, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $287.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $312.61.

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

Acuity Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AYI. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Acuity from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised Acuity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, April 12th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Acuity from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Acuity from $342.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $369.17.

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.