UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Buys 2,335 Shares of Acuity, Inc. $AYI

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 25,825 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after buying an additional 2,335 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Acuity were worth $8,894,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new position in shares of Acuity during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Acuity by 1,100.0% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Acuity during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Acuity during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Acuity by 122.2% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 100 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AYI. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Acuity from $425.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Acuity from $312.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Acuity from $380.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Acuity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Acuity from $380.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $395.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Acuity news, SVP Barry R. Goldman sold 4,489 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.11, for a total transaction of $1,638,978.79. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 6,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,211,106.16. This represents a 42.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Acuity Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AYI opened at $315.65 on Friday. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $353.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $340.94. Acuity, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $216.81 and a fifty-two week high of $380.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.50.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 8th. The electronics maker reported $4.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.24. Acuity had a net margin of 9.04% and a return on equity of 20.97%. 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 previous year, the company earned $3.97 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Acuity, Inc. will post 15.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. This is a boost from Acuity’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.23%.

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.