Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 56,569 Shares of Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its Acuity position by 78.9% in the second quarter, selling 56,569 shares and retaining 15,109 shares worth approximately $5.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 98.21% of the company.
• Acuity reported quarterly earnings of $5.31 per share, exceeding estimates by $0.14, while revenue rose 1.6% year over year to $1.20 billion. Shares were trading at $356.15, up 0.8%.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $397.17; the company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.20, equivalent to a 0.2% yield.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its position in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 78.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,109 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 56,569 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.05% of Acuity worth $5,691,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Acuity by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 617 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of Acuity by 1.8% in the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,134 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Acuity by 1.6% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC lifted 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 valued at $2,450,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Acuity by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,338 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $655,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Acuity Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Acuity stock opened at $356.15 on Wednesday. Acuity, Inc. has a 1 year low of $257.04 and a 1 year high of $380.17. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $331.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $305.53. The firm has a market cap of $10.66 billion, a PE ratio of 23.62, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.29. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.18 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.12 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Acuity's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AYI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Thursday, June 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Acuity from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $465.00 price objective on Acuity in a report on Friday, June 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $397.17.

Acuity Company Profile

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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