Boston Trust Walden Corp Sells 70,685 Shares of Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Key Points

• Boston Trust Walden Corp cut its stake in Acuity by 22.2% in Q4, selling 70,685 shares and leaving it with 248,407 shares valued at about $89.44 million (≈0.81% of the company).
• Insider activity was mixed: Director Laura O'Shaughnessy bought 1,000 shares at $282.98 while CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 4,974 shares at $309.23, and corporate insiders now own about 2.90% of the stock.
• Acuity declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 (annualized $0.80, yield 0.3%, ex-dividend Apr 17), and analysts have trimmed price targets though the consensus remains a "Moderate Buy" with a $369.17 target.

Boston Trust Walden Corp lowered its position in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 22.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 248,407 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 70,685 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned approximately 0.81% of Acuity worth $89,436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its position in shares of Acuity by 25.6% during the third quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 152 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Acuity by 0.5% during the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 6,269 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $2,159,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Illumine Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Acuity by 1.2% during the third quarter. Illumine Investment Management LLC now owns 2,872 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $989,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its position in shares of Acuity by 0.6% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 5,577 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $1,921,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Acuity by 1.8% during the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,134 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $637,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Acuity

In other Acuity news, Director Laura O'shaughnessy bought 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 owned 3,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $880,350.78. The trade was a 47.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 4,974 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.23, for a total value of $1,538,110.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,655,557.29. The trade was a 18.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Acuity Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE AYI opened at $296.34 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $284.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $327.66. The company has a market capitalization of $8.99 billion, a PE ratio of 21.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Acuity, Inc. has a 12 month low of $229.76 and a 12 month high of $380.17.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 17th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 17th. Acuity's dividend payout ratio is currently 5.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AYI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Acuity from $342.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Acuity from $425.00 to $410.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Acuity from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Acuity presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $369.17.

Key Stories Impacting Acuity

Here are the key news stories impacting Acuity this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Small upside revision: Zacks bumped its Q3 2027 EPS view slightly to $5.32 from $5.31, a token improvement for that quarter. MarketBeat: AYI Zacks estimate changes
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks published a comprehensive update covering Q3/Q4 2026 through FY2028 (full set of quarter and year estimates), so investors now have refreshed guidance drivers to compare against Acuity's results and management commentary. MarketBeat: AYI Zacks estimate changes
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple downward revisions to near‑term quarters: Zacks cut Q3 2026 to $4.91 (from $5.04), Q4 2026 to $5.23 (from $5.30), Q1 2027 to $4.77 (from $4.80) and sharply cut Q2 2027 to $4.40 (from $4.69). These trims suggest softer demand or margin pressure in 2026–2027 and are likely weighing on sentiment. MarketBeat: AYI Zacks estimate changes
• Negative Sentiment: Downward revisions to full‑year estimates: Zacks lowered FY2026 to $18.33 (from $18.53), FY2027 to $20.07 (from $20.37) and FY2028 to $21.77 (from $22.21). Lower multi‑year EPS paths can pressure valuation multiples and investor expectations. MarketBeat: AYI Zacks estimate changes

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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