Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC Has $15.96 Million Position in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,327 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 7,775 shares during the period. Acuity comprises 0.6% of Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Acuity worth $15,955,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 2,263,925 shares during the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP increased its position in Acuity by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,363,619 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $469,617,000 after acquiring an additional 113,720 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Acuity by 6.4% during the second 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 during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Acuity by 2.1% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 815,050 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $280,695,000 after acquiring an additional 17,011 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Acuity by 10.1% during the third 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 period. Institutional investors own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AYI. Robert W. Baird set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Acuity in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Acuity from $425.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Zacks Research cut Acuity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $389.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction of $1,538,110.02. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Acuity Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AYI opened at $260.55 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.99 billion, a PE ratio of 20.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Acuity, Inc. has a twelve month low of $216.81 and a twelve month high of $380.17. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $310.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $339.37.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 8th. The electronics maker reported $4.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.45 by $0.24. Acuity had a net margin of 9.04% and a return on equity of 20.97%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.97 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Acuity, Inc. will post 15.86 EPS for the current year.

Acuity Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend 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 is currently 6.15%.

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.