Acuity, Inc. $AYI Stock Position Raised by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 56.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 125,593 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,244 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Acuity were worth $38,910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Acuity in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Acuity in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Acuity in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Acuity in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Acuity by 110.2% in the second 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 during the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Acuity Stock Performance

Shares of Acuity stock opened at $316.79 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.48 billion, a PE ratio of 16.95, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.30. Acuity, Inc. has a 12 month low of $257.04 and a 12 month high of $380.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $318.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $315.00.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 20.30% and a net margin of 11.45%. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Acuity, Inc. will post 20.02 EPS for the current year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 16th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 16th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.68%.

Insider Activity at Acuity

In other news, CFO Karen Holcom sold 2,000 shares of Acuity stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.62, for a total transaction of $659,240.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 17,447 shares in the company, valued at $5,750,880.14. The trade was a 10.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. William Blair cut shares of Acuity from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Acuity from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 3rd. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Acuity from $360.00 to $348.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Acuity has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $374.20.

Acuity Profile

Acuity (NYSE: AYI), formerly known as Acuity Brands, is a technology company focused on improving how people experience and manage indoor and outdoor spaces. Its businesses develop lighting, lighting controls, building-management systems and related solutions for commercial, institutional, industrial and residential applications.

The company’s offerings include LED lighting fixtures, connected lighting systems, sensors, controls, building automation technologies and location-aware software.