Copeland Capital Management LLC Invests $8.90 Million in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 31,768 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $8,902,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC owned about 0.10% of Acuity as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in shares of Acuity in the 4th quarter worth about $2,019,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Acuity by 499.6% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 164,275 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $59,145,000 after acquiring an additional 136,879 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Acuity in the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,762,000. UBS Group AG grew its position in Acuity by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 308,665 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $111,132,000 after acquiring an additional 83,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Acuity by 120.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,820 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $5,177,000 after acquiring an additional 7,543 shares in the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Acuity

In other Acuity news, Director Maya Leibman acquired 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $288.83 per share, for a total transaction of $57,766.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 400 shares in the company, valued at $115,532. The trade was a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AYI shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Acuity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 21st. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $465.00 price target on Acuity in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.17.

Acuity Stock Performance

Acuity stock opened at $333.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.27. Acuity, Inc. has a 1-year low of $257.04 and a 1-year high of $380.17. The company’s 50-day moving average is $314.25 and its 200 day moving average is $305.85.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 10.25%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.12 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.28 EPS for the current year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.31%.

About Acuity

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.