Curated Wealth Partners LLC Sells 24,685 Shares of Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Key Points

• Curated Wealth Partners cut its Acuity stake by 94.8% in the third quarter, selling 24,685 shares and retaining 1,351 shares valued at approximately $419,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 98.21% of Acuity.
• Acuity exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $5.77 in EPS versus the $5.57 consensus, while revenue reached $1.24 billion, up 2.9% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with four Buy ratings and five Hold ratings, resulting in an overall “Hold” rating and an average price target of $380.20. Acuity shares opened at $303.34, compared with a 52-week range of $257.04 to $380.17.

Curated Wealth Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 94.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,351 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 24,685 shares during the quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Acuity were worth $419,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Acuity during the third quarter worth approximately $248,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its position in Acuity by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 73,947 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $22,910,000 after purchasing an additional 13,145 shares during the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its position in Acuity by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 9,124 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $2,741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,314 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital bought a new position in Acuity in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $262,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Acuity by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,319 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $409,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Acuity

In related news, CFO Karen Holcom sold 2,000 shares of Acuity stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.62, for a total value of $659,240.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 17,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,750,880.14. This trade represents a 10.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AYI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Acuity from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 3rd. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Acuity in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Acuity from $440.00 to $415.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $380.20.

Acuity Stock Performance

AYI opened at $303.34 on Friday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $321.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $313.62. Acuity, Inc. has a 52-week low of $257.04 and a 52-week high of $380.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.08 billion, a PE ratio of 16.15, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.30.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The electronics maker reported $5.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.57 by $0.20. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.30% and a net margin of 11.45%. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.20 earnings per share. Acuity's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Acuity, Inc. will post 19.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 16th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 16th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Acuity's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.68%.

Acuity Company Profile

Acuity NYSE: AYI is a technology company that provides lighting, lighting controls and building-management solutions for commercial, institutional, industrial and residential environments. Its products are designed to improve illumination, energy efficiency, automation and the overall performance of indoor and outdoor spaces.

The company offers a broad portfolio of lighting fixtures, controls, sensors and connected-building technologies. Its brands and product lines have included Lithonia Lighting, Holophane, Peerless, SensorSwitch, Distech Controls and Atrius.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.