Arizona State Retirement System Has $3.90 Million Holdings in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 19.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,839 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,770 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Acuity were worth $3,902,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake 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 worth $676,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,263,925 shares during the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP increased its stake in shares of Acuity by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,363,619 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $469,617,000 after purchasing an additional 113,720 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Acuity by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 815,050 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $280,695,000 after purchasing an additional 17,011 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in shares of Acuity by 6,496.7% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 692,189 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $249,216,000 after purchasing an additional 681,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Acuity by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 633,060 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $218,071,000 after purchasing an additional 58,085 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Acuity Stock Performance

NYSE:AYI opened at $291.87 on Tuesday. Acuity, Inc. has a 1 year low of $234.98 and a 1 year high of $380.17. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $283.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $325.85. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.85 billion, a PE ratio of 21.40, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.42.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AYI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Friday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Acuity from $342.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Acuity from $425.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $369.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Acuity news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 4,974 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.23, for a total value of $1,538,110.02. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 21,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,655,557.29. This trade represents a 18.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Laura O’shaughnessy bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $282.98 per share, for a total transaction of $282,980.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $880,350.78. The trade was a 47.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

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.