Acuity, Inc. $AYI Shares Acquired by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 5.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,196 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,857 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.11% of Acuity worth $9,582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AYI. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Acuity by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 617 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Acuity by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,134 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $637,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of Acuity by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,488 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $857,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC grew its position in shares of Acuity by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 6,805 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $2,450,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in Acuity by 59.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 113 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Oppenheimer set a $465.00 target price on Acuity in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen raised Acuity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 21st. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.17.

Acuity Stock Performance

NYSE:AYI traded down $12.52 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $341.71. 47,534 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 443,901. Acuity, Inc. has a 1-year low of $257.04 and a 1-year high of $380.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50-day moving average of $306.65 and a 200 day moving average of $307.53.

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

Acuity Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Laura O’shaughnessy purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director directly owned 3,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,350.78. The trade was a 47.37% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Maya Leibman bought 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was bought 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 in the company, valued at approximately $115,532. The trade was a 100.00% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

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.