Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Sells 6,701 Shares of Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lessened its stake in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 17.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 30,900 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 6,701 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Acuity were worth $11,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AYI. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Acuity by 25.6% during the third quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 152 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its position in Acuity by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 6,269 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $2,159,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Illumine Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Acuity by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Illumine Investment Management LLC now owns 2,872 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $989,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its holdings in Acuity by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 5,577 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,921,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in 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 during the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Acuity Price Performance

AYI opened at $270.25 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $297.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $335.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.29 billion, a PE ratio of 20.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.50. Acuity, Inc. has a 52 week low of $216.81 and a 52 week high of $380.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 2.07.

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

Acuity Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AYI has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Acuity from $425.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Acuity from $375.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $380.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Acuity news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 4,974 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $6,655,557.29. This trade represents a 18.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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.