Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Acquires 3,480 Shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 20.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,420 shares of the electronics maker's stock after purchasing an additional 3,480 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. owned 0.07% of Acuity worth $5,378,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Acuity by 1,470.0% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 314 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Acuity by 42.8% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 38,625 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $11,284,000 after acquiring an additional 11,583 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Acuity in the 4th quarter worth $10,412,000. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Acuity by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 8,929 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $2,608,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Acuity in the 4th quarter worth $13,394,000. Institutional investors own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Acuity

In related news, SVP Barry R. Goldman sold 4,125 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.30, for a total value of $1,230,487.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 6,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,980,115.40. This represents a 38.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.04, for a total transaction of $1,806,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,628,243.84. This trade represents a 24.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.80% of the company's stock.

Acuity Stock Performance

NYSE AYI traded down $4.26 during trading on Friday, hitting $298.43. 200,151 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 308,849. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.52, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.62. Acuity, Inc. has a 12-month low of $216.81 and a 12-month high of $345.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.99. The business has a 50 day moving average of $275.90 and a 200-day moving average of $282.23.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 26th. The electronics maker reported $5.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.44 by $0.68. Acuity had a net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 20.35%. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.15 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 21.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Acuity, Inc. will post 15.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Acuity's payout ratio is 5.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AYI shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Acuity from $335.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Acuity from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Acuity from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Acuity from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Acuity currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $340.60.

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.