4,207 Shares in Acuity, Inc. $AYI Bought by Vest Financial LLC

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC purchased 4,207 shares of Acuity, Inc. valued at approximately $1,255,000, indicating strong institutional interest in the stock.
• Acuity recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share to be paid on November 3rd, reflecting a 0.2% yield.
• Analyst ratings for Acuity vary, with a consensus price target of $395.17, and notable upgrades from firms like Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo, suggesting positive outlooks for the stock.

Vest Financial LLC bought a new position in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,207 shares of the electronics maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,255,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AYI. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Acuity in the second quarter worth $32,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Acuity by 525.0% in the first quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 125 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. increased its stake in shares of Acuity by 31.7% in the first quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 320 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of Acuity by 1,789.5% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 359 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Acuity by 31.2% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 328 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. 98.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Acuity Stock Performance

Shares of Acuity stock opened at $362.37 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $11.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.92, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.64. The firm's 50-day moving average is $334.89 and its 200 day moving average is $292.72. Acuity, Inc. has a 1 year low of $216.81 and a 1 year high of $375.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.33.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 17th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Acuity's dividend payout ratio is currently 5.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AYI shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Acuity from $365.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Acuity from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Acuity from $380.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Acuity from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $395.17.

Acuity Profile

Acuity Brands, Inc provides lighting, lighting controls, building management system, location-aware applications in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Acuity Brands Lighting and Lighting Controls (ABL); and the Intelligent Spaces Group (ISG). The ABL segment provides commercial, architectural, and specialty lighting solutions, as well as lighting controls and components for various indoor and outdoor applications under the A-Light, Aculux, American Electric Lighting, Cyclone, Dark to Light, eldoLED, Eureka, Gotham, Healthcare Lighting, Holophane, Hydrel, Indy, IOTA, Juno, Lithonia Lighting, Luminaire LED, Luminis, Mark Architectural Lighting, nLight, OPTOTRONIC, Peerless, RELOCWiring Solutions, and Sensor Switch.

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