Bank of New York Mellon Corp Decreases Stock Position in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon Corp trimmed its Acuity position by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 5,795 shares and ending with 231,144 shares valued at about $83.2 million.
• Insider buying was notable: directors Maya Leibman and Laura O’shaughnessy purchased shares in April, increasing their stakes by 100% and 47.37%, respectively.
• Analysts remain mixed but broadly positive, with a Moderate Buy consensus on AYI and a target price of $369.17; the stock recently traded at $296.60 after Acuity beat quarterly EPS estimates.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its position in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 231,144 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 5,795 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.75% of Acuity worth $83,221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Acuity during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in Acuity during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Acuity during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Acuity during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in Acuity by 59.2% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 113 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Maya Leibman acquired 200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $288.83 per share, with a total value of $57,766.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $115,532. This represents a 100.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Laura O'shaughnessy acquired 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $282.98 per share, with a total value of $282,980.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 3,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $880,350.78. This represents a 47.37% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AYI shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Acuity from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Acuity from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Acuity from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Acuity from $342.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $369.17.

Acuity Price Performance

AYI stock opened at $296.60 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $287.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $312.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $8.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.31. Acuity, Inc. has a 52-week low of $257.04 and a 52-week high of $380.17.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 2nd. The electronics maker reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.11 by $0.03. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 9.37%.The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.45 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Acuity's payout ratio is presently 5.87%.

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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