Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $544,000 Position in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Renaissance Technologies LLC cut its position in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 78.7% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,940 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 7,160 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Acuity were worth $544,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AYI. Morningstar Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Acuity by 72.3% during the 1st quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC now owns 5,305 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,487,000 after acquiring an additional 2,226 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Acuity by 87.9% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 213,801 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $59,911,000 after purchasing an additional 100,036 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Acuity in the first quarter valued at approximately $254,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Acuity by 25.6% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 93,935 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $26,321,000 after purchasing an additional 19,123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Acuity in the first quarter worth $253,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Acuity Price Performance

NYSE:AYI opened at $360.59 on Tuesday. Acuity, Inc. has a 1-year low of $257.04 and a 1-year high of $380.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $335.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $306.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.80 billion, a PE ratio of 23.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.30.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. Acuity had a net margin of 10.25% and a return on equity of 20.26%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 17th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Acuity’s payout ratio is currently 5.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AYI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Oppenheimer set a $465.00 price objective on Acuity in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Acuity from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.17.

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.