Allianz Asset Management GmbH Increases Stock Position in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 215,809 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after buying an additional 15,611 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Acuity were worth $74,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its stake in Acuity by 25.6% during the third quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 152 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Illumine Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in Acuity by 1.8% in the second 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 period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in Acuity by 4.6% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,013 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 4,974 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,655,557.29. This represents a 18.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Acuity Stock Performance

Shares of AYI stock opened at $315.10 on Wednesday. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $348.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $342.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.50. Acuity, Inc. has a 12 month low of $216.81 and a 12 month high of $380.17.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 8th. The electronics maker reported $4.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.97 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Acuity, Inc. will post 15.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. This is a boost from Acuity’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AYI. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Acuity from $425.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Acuity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $375.00 target price on Acuity in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $395.17.

Acuity 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.