Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Buys 17,812 Shares of Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 928.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,731 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,812 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Acuity worth $6,795,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Acuity by 50,220.2% during the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 2,268,433 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $676,764,000 after buying an additional 2,263,925 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Acuity in the second quarter valued at approximately $119,587,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Acuity in the second quarter worth $115,595,000. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Acuity by 64.0% during the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 574,975 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $171,580,000 after purchasing an additional 224,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Durable Capital Partners LP grew its position in Acuity by 13.8% in the second quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,249,899 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $372,895,000 after purchasing an additional 151,414 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Acuity news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 4,974 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.23, for a total transaction of $1,538,110.02. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 21,523 shares in the company, valued at $6,655,557.29. This trade represents a 18.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Acuity Price Performance

NYSE:AYI opened at $331.42 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $344.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $343.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The company has a market cap of $10.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.50. Acuity, Inc. has a one year low of $216.81 and a one year high of $380.17.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 8th. The electronics maker reported $4.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.45 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. Acuity had a net margin of 9.04% and a return on equity of 20.97%. Acuity’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.97 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Acuity, Inc. will post 15.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Acuity Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This is a boost from Acuity’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on AYI. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Acuity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Acuity in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Acuity from $425.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Acuity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Acuity in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Acuity presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $395.17.

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.