Acuity, Inc. $AYI Shares Sold by Nordea Investment Management AB

Key Points

• Nordea Investment Management cut its stake in Acuity by 11.4% in Q4, selling 5,797 shares and leaving it with 44,880 shares worth about $16.24 million (≈0.15% of the company).
• CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 4,974 shares on January 28 at an average price of $309.23 for roughly $1.54 million, an 18.77% reduction in her holding, and corporate insiders now own about 2.90% of the stock.
• Acuity beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $4.69 vs. $4.45 and revenue of $1.14 billion (up 20.2% year-over-year), and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.20 (annualized $0.80).

Nordea Investment Management AB decreased its holdings in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,880 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 5,797 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB owned approximately 0.15% of Acuity worth $16,242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Acuity in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Acuity by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 5,942 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $2,139,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Acuity by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Acuity in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,762,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Acuity by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 550 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $189,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 4,974 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Acuity Stock Performance

Shares of Acuity stock opened at $282.74 on Wednesday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $299.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $336.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.75, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.50. Acuity, Inc. has a 12 month low of $216.81 and a 12 month high of $380.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 8th. The electronics maker reported $4.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.97 EPS. Acuity's quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Acuity, Inc. will post 15.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Acuity Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is a positive change from Acuity's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. Acuity's payout ratio is currently 6.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Acuity from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Acuity from $425.00 to $410.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $375.00 target price on Acuity in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $389.33.

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.

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