Blue Trust Inc. Sells 718 Shares of Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Key Points

• Blue Trust Inc. significantly reduced its holdings in Acuity, Inc. (AYI) by 46.8%, selling 718 shares and leaving them with 816 shares valued at approximately $243,000.
• Acuity has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share, with a record date of October 17th and a payout ratio of 5.43%.
• Several analysts have upgraded their target prices for Acuity, with Wells Fargo & Company raising its target to $405.00, reflecting growing investor interest.

Blue Trust Inc. reduced its position in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 46.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 816 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 718 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Acuity were worth $243,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AYI. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Acuity by 12.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 863 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Acuity by 27.5% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,161 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $1,886,000 after acquiring an additional 1,546 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Acuity by 2.2% in the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 5,527 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $1,456,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Acuity by 7.7% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,166 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $2,414,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in Acuity by 3.0% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 3,592 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $945,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Acuity Price Performance

Acuity stock opened at $362.37 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.95. Acuity, Inc. has a 52-week low of $216.81 and a 52-week high of $375.67. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $334.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $292.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.92, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.64.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 17th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 17th. Acuity's dividend payout ratio is presently 5.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Acuity from $335.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Acuity from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Acuity from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Acuity from $380.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $395.17.

Acuity 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.

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