1,806 Shares in Acuity, Inc. $AYI Bought by West Family Investments Inc.

West Family Investments Inc. purchased a new position in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,806 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $680,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AYI. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Acuity by 499.6% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 164,275 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $59,145,000 after buying an additional 136,879 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Acuity by 57.0% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 31,233 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $11,245,000 after acquiring an additional 11,341 shares during the period. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension bought a new stake in shares of Acuity in the 4th quarter worth approximately $22,572,000. Havemeyer Place LP acquired a new stake in shares of Acuity during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,259,000. Finally, ABN AMRO Bank N.V. bought a new stake in shares of Acuity during the second quarter valued at approximately $9,736,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Karen Holcom sold 2,000 shares of Acuity stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.62, for a total value of $659,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 17,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,750,880.14. The trade was a 10.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Acuity Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AYI traded down $8.32 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $325.73. 167,178 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 397,735. Acuity, Inc. has a 12 month low of $257.04 and a 12 month high of $380.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.05. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $342.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $309.05. The firm has a market cap of $9.75 billion, a PE ratio of 21.60, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.29.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.49 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AYI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Acuity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 30th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Acuity from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.17.

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.