Allianz Asset Management GmbH Sells 7,746 Shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

Allianz Asset Management GmbH lessened its holdings in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 5.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 144,441 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 7,746 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned 0.47% of Acuity worth $38,039,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Durable Capital Partners LP lifted its stake in Acuity by 158.9% in the 4th quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,088,477 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $317,977,000 after purchasing an additional 668,048 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Acuity during the 4th quarter worth approximately $110,236,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Acuity by 29,415.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227,271 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $59,852,000 after acquiring an additional 226,501 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Acuity by 241.8% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 216,007 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $63,102,000 after acquiring an additional 152,807 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in Acuity by 1,256.1% during the fourth quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 161,183 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $47,086,000 after purchasing an additional 149,297 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Acuity

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 stock was sold at an average price of $298.30, for a total transaction of $1,230,487.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 6,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,980,115.40. This represents a 38.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 6,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,628,243.84. The trade was a 24.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AYI shares. Wall Street Zen raised Acuity from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Acuity from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Acuity from $335.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Acuity from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Acuity presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $340.60.

Acuity Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:AYI traded down $4.99 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $297.52. 200,564 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 328,584. The business's 50-day moving average price is $281.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $281.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.62. Acuity, Inc. has a 12 month low of $216.81 and a 12 month high of $345.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.99.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 26th. The electronics maker reported $5.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.44 by $0.68. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 9.63%. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.15 EPS. The business's revenue was up 21.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Acuity, Inc. will post 15.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Acuity's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.36%.

Acuity Company 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.