B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Trims Stock Holdings in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Key Points

• B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG reduced its Acuity stake by 21.4% in the second quarter, selling 3,873 shares and retaining 14,262 shares valued at approximately $5.4 million.
• Acuity reported quarterly EPS of $5.31, surpassing estimates of $5.17, while revenue rose 1.6% year over year to $1.20 billion. The company also declared a $0.20 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 0.2% yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $397.17, compared with the stock’s reported opening price of $329.04.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lowered its stake in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 21.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,262 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 3,873 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Acuity were worth $5,372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in Acuity by 499.6% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 164,275 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $59,145,000 after acquiring an additional 136,879 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Acuity by 57.0% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 31,233 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $11,245,000 after purchasing an additional 11,341 shares during the last quarter. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $22,572,000. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Acuity in the 2nd quarter valued at $9,736,000. Finally, Havemeyer Place LP acquired a new stake in shares of Acuity in the 4th quarter valued at $1,259,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Karen Holcom sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.62, for a total transaction of $659,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 17,447 shares in the company, valued at $5,750,880.14. This represents a 10.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Acuity Stock Performance

Shares of AYI stock opened at $329.04 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $343.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $308.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.05. Acuity, Inc. has a 1 year low of $257.04 and a 1 year high of $380.17. The firm has a market cap of $9.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.82, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.29.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.18 billion. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 10.25%.The business's revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.12 EPS. Analysts predict that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 17th were given 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 is 5.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Oppenheimer set a $465.00 price target on Acuity in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Acuity from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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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