Acuity, Inc. $AYI Shares Acquired by Fifth Third Bancorp

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp dramatically increased its stake in Acuity, boosting holdings by 2,192.8% in the first quarter to 13,642 shares worth about $3.82 million.
• Acuity reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $5.31 on revenue of $1.20 billion, both slightly above analyst estimates.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, while analysts currently have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $397.17.

Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 2,192.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,642 shares of the electronics maker's stock after purchasing an additional 13,047 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Acuity were worth $3,823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Acuity by 20.2% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,724 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Acuity by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,121 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Acuity by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 6,298 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $1,765,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Acuity during the 1st quarter valued at about $336,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Acuity by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,444 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $2,646,000 after buying an additional 962 shares during the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Acuity

In other news, Director Maya Leibman bought 200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $288.83 per share, with a total value of $57,766.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 400 shares in the company, valued at $115,532. This represents a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Acuity Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AYI opened at $333.45 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Acuity, Inc. has a 1 year low of $257.04 and a 1 year high of $380.17. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $314.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $305.85. The firm has a market cap of $9.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.27.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for 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 business's revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.12 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 17th. Acuity's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AYI. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Oppenheimer set a $465.00 target price on shares of Acuity in a research report on Friday, June 26th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $397.17.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AYI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.