Acuity, Inc. $AYI Shares Sold by Algert Global LLC

Key Points

• Algert Global LLC significantly reduced its position in Acuity, Inc. by 62.1%, lowering its holdings to 8,622 shares worth $2,271,000, according to a recent SEC filing.
• Acuity Brands experienced a positive earnings report, posting $5.12 EPS for the quarter, which exceeded analysts' estimates by $0.68, while revenue increased 21.7% year-over-year.
• Several analysts have upgraded their price targets for Acuity, with Morgan Stanley raising it from $335.00 to $365.00, reflecting a generally positive outlook on the stock.

Algert Global LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 62.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,622 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 14,130 shares during the quarter. Algert Global LLC's holdings in Acuity were worth $2,271,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Acuity during the first quarter valued at about $250,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Acuity by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 863 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in shares of Acuity by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 3,592 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Acuity by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 99,827 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $26,290,000 after purchasing an additional 14,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in Acuity by 38.2% in the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 186,021 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $48,989,000 after purchasing an additional 51,430 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Acuity from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Acuity from $335.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Acuity from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Acuity from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $340.60.

Acuity Stock Up 4.0%

AYI traded up $12.6310 on Friday, hitting $326.9210. 144,261 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 270,855. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $301.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $279.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Acuity, Inc. has a twelve month low of $216.81 and a twelve month high of $345.30. The company has a market cap of $10.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.64.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 26th. The electronics maker reported $5.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.44 by $0.68. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 9.63%.The business had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.15 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Acuity, Inc. will post 15.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 18th. Acuity's payout ratio is 5.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Acuity news, SVP Barry R. Goldman sold 4,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.30, for a total value of $1,230,487.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 6,638 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,980,115.40. This represents a 38.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 6,000 shares of Acuity stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.04, for a total transaction of $1,806,240.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,628,243.84. This trade represents a 24.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.80% of the company's stock.

About Acuity

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.