Acuity, Inc. $AYI Shares Acquired by California State Teachers Retirement System

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System increased its Acuity stake by 22.1% in the first quarter, reaching 35,507 shares valued at approximately $9.95 million. Institutional investors collectively own 98.21% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with five Buy ratings and four Holds producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $397.17. Morgan Stanley raised its target to $410, while Oppenheimer set a $465 target.
• Acuity reported quarterly earnings of $5.31 per share, exceeding estimates, while revenue rose 1.6% year over year to $1.20 billion. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, representing a 0.2% yield.

California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 22.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,507 shares of the electronics maker's stock after acquiring an additional 6,418 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.12% of Acuity worth $9,950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Acuity by 50,220.2% during the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 2,268,433 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $676,764,000 after buying an additional 2,263,925 shares during the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Acuity by 9.1% in the third quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,363,619 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $469,617,000 after purchasing an additional 113,720 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in Acuity by 6,496.7% during the fourth 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. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Acuity by 8.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 635,160 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $177,970,000 after purchasing an additional 47,880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its stake in 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. 98.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Acuity from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Oppenheimer set a $465.00 price target on shares of Acuity in a research report on Friday, June 26th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $397.17.

Acuity Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:AYI opened at $334.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.03 billion, a PE ratio of 22.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.30. Acuity, Inc. has a 1 year low of $257.04 and a 1 year high of $380.17. 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's 50-day moving average is $324.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $303.91.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $0.14. Acuity had a net margin of 10.25% and a return on equity of 20.26%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.12 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.44 EPS for the current year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 17th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Acuity's dividend payout ratio is currently 5.31%.

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.

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