Acuity, Inc. $AYI Stock: Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Grows Holdings

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 56.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 125,593 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,244 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned approximately 0.42% of Acuity worth $38,910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Acuity in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Acuity in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Acuity in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Acuity during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Acuity by 110.2% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 103 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. 98.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Acuity Price Performance

NYSE AYI opened at $316.79 on Friday. Acuity, Inc. has a twelve month low of $257.04 and a twelve month high of $380.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.48 billion, a PE ratio of 16.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $318.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $315.00.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 1st. The electronics maker reported $5.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.57 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.24 billion. Acuity had a net margin of 11.45% and a return on equity of 20.30%. Acuity’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.20 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Acuity, Inc. will post 20.02 EPS for the current year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 16th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 16th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Acuity news, CFO Karen Holcom sold 2,000 shares of Acuity stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.62, for a total transaction of $659,240.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 17,447 shares in the company, valued at $5,750,880.14. The trade was a 10.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on AYI shares. William Blair cut shares of Acuity from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Acuity from $410.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $374.20.

Acuity Company Profile

Acuity (NYSE: AYI), formerly known as Acuity Brands, is a technology company focused on improving how people experience and manage indoor and outdoor spaces. Its businesses develop lighting, lighting controls, building-management systems and related solutions for commercial, institutional, industrial and residential applications.

The company’s offerings include LED lighting fixtures, connected lighting systems, sensors, controls, building automation technologies and location-aware software.