Pacer Advisors Inc. Has $2.40 Million Stake in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 28.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,964 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,550 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Acuity were worth $2,398,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AYI. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Acuity by 50,220.2% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 2,268,433 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $676,764,000 after acquiring an additional 2,263,925 shares in the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Acuity by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,249,899 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $372,895,000 after purchasing an additional 151,414 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Acuity by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 840,508 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $250,759,000 after acquiring an additional 50,491 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Acuity by 34.6% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 613,217 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $157,910,000 after buying an additional 157,790 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Acuity by 64.0% during the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 574,975 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $171,580,000 after purchasing an additional 224,469 shares during the period. 98.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Barry R. Goldman sold 4,687 shares of Acuity stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $368.01, for a total value of $1,724,862.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,880,665.45. This trade represents a 30.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on AYI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Acuity from $312.00 to $356.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Acuity from $380.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Acuity from $380.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Acuity from $335.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Acuity from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $395.17.

Acuity Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of Acuity stock opened at $364.82 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.20 billion, a PE ratio of 29.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.49. Acuity, Inc. has a 52-week low of $216.81 and a 52-week high of $379.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.95. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $362.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $335.76.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 1st. The electronics maker reported $5.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.84 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. Acuity had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.30 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Acuity, Inc. will post 15.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.