AQR Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 34.6%, holding a total of 613,217 shares now worth approximately $157.9 million.
• Several hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings in Acuity, with 98.21% of the company's stock now owned by institutional investors.
• Acuity reported quarterly earnings of $5.12 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations and signaling a 21.7% year-over-year revenue growth.

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 34.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 613,217 shares of the electronics maker's stock after purchasing an additional 157,790 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 1.98% of Acuity worth $157,910,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Acuity in the first quarter worth $28,341,000. Perbak Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Acuity during the first quarter valued at $318,000. Durable Capital Partners LP increased its position in Acuity by 0.9% during the first quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,098,485 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $289,286,000 after acquiring an additional 10,008 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new stake in Acuity during the first quarter valued at $7,505,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in Acuity by 290.3% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 722 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $190,000 after acquiring an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Acuity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AYI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Acuity from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Acuity from $335.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Acuity from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Acuity from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $320.00 to $380.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Acuity currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $352.60.

Acuity Stock Performance

Shares of AYI opened at $331.79 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $310.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $280.66. The stock has a market cap of $10.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.15, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.65. Acuity, Inc. has a 52 week low of $216.81 and a 52 week high of $345.30.

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

Acuity Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th were paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Acuity's dividend payout ratio is 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.

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 and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.