Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension Boosts Stock Position in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Key Points

• Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension increased its Acuity stake by 42.9% in the first quarter, buying an additional 26,880 shares to bring its holdings to 89,573 shares valued at about $25.1 million.
• Acuity posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $5.31 versus the $5.17 consensus and revenue of $1.20 billion, up 1.6% year over year.
• Analysts remain generally constructive on the stock, with a moderate buy consensus and an average price target of $397.17; the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share.

Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension raised its position in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 42.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 89,573 shares of the electronics maker's stock after acquiring an additional 26,880 shares during the quarter. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension owned approximately 0.30% of Acuity worth $25,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AYI. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Acuity by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 617 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in Acuity by 1.8% during the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,134 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $637,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Acuity by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,488 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC boosted its stake in shares of Acuity by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 6,805 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $2,450,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in Acuity by 59.2% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 113 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Maya Leibman purchased 200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $288.83 per share, for a total transaction of $57,766.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $115,532. This trade represents a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AYI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Acuity in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Oppenheimer set a $465.00 price objective on Acuity in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Acuity from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $397.17.

Acuity Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:AYI opened at $332.78 on Monday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $310.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $306.79. Acuity, Inc. has a 1 year low of $257.04 and a 1 year high of $380.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.47.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. Acuity had a net margin of 10.25% and a return on equity of 20.26%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.12 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

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

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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