Vise Technologies Inc. Buys 2,282 Shares of Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Vise Technologies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 191.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,472 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,282 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc.’s holdings in Acuity were worth $1,076,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Acuity by 1.8% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,338 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $655,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Acuity by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,147 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $432,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Acuity by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 996 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Acuity by 110.2% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 103 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in Acuity by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,204 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,266,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Neil Ashe sold 22,060 shares of Acuity stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.33, for a total value of $7,000,299.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 86,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,373,520.46. The trade was a 20.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Karen Holcom sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 17,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,750,880.14. This represents a 10.28% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 36,047 shares of company stock valued at $11,537,354. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Acuity Price Performance

AYI stock opened at $323.44 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $313.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $310.15. The company has a market capitalization of $9.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.91, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.24. Acuity, Inc. has a 52-week low of $257.04 and a 52-week 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.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 1st. The electronics maker reported $5.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.57 by $0.20. Acuity had a net margin of 11.45% and a return on equity of 20.30%. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.20 earnings per share. Acuity’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Acuity, Inc. will post 20.04 EPS for the current year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 16th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 16th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Acuity’s payout ratio is presently 4.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AYI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Acuity from $410.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Acuity from $440.00 to $415.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. William Blair cut Acuity from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Acuity from $360.00 to $348.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $374.20.

Acuity Company Profile

Acuity (NYSE: AYI) designs, manufactures and sells lighting and building-management solutions. Its offerings include indoor and outdoor luminaires, lighting controls, building automation systems and related software for commercial, industrial, institutional and residential settings.

The company sells products under a portfolio of brands, including Lithonia Lighting, Juno, Peerless, Gotham and Distech Controls. Its solutions help customers manage lighting, building systems and energy use across a range of facilities.

Founded in 2001 as a spin-off from National Service Industries, Acuity is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, and serves customers in North America and selected international markets.