Millennium Management LLC Raises Position in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 98.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 571,017 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 283,203 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC’s holdings in Acuity were worth $196,653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AYI. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new position in shares of Acuity during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Acuity during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Acuity by 122.2% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 100 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in Acuity by 5,200.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 106 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Acuity during the second quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Acuity Stock Performance

AYI stock opened at $264.48 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $308.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $338.95. Acuity, Inc. has a twelve month low of $216.81 and a twelve month high of $380.17. The firm has a market cap of $8.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.50.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 8th. The electronics maker reported $4.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.97% and a net margin of 9.04%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.97 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Acuity, Inc. will post 15.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Acuity Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This is a positive change from Acuity’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.15%.

Insider Transactions at Acuity

In other Acuity news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 4,974 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.23, for a total value of $1,538,110.02. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,523 shares in the company, valued at $6,655,557.29. This represents a 18.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AYI. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Zacks Research cut shares of Acuity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Robert W. Baird set a $375.00 price target on shares of Acuity in a report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Acuity in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Acuity presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $389.33.

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.