De Lisle Partners LLP Boosts Position in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

Key Points

• De Lisle Partners LLP increased its stake in Acuity, Inc. by 17.2% during the 1st quarter, bringing their total ownership to approximately $7.17 million.
• Acuity reported earnings of $5.12 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $4.44, with quarterly revenue increasing by 21.7% to $1.18 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share, which will be paid on August 1st, representing an annualized yield of 0.22%.

De Lisle Partners LLP lifted its stake in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 17.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,211 shares of the electronics maker's stock after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Acuity accounts for approximately 1.2% of De Lisle Partners LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. De Lisle Partners LLP owned about 0.09% of Acuity worth $7,172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its position in shares of Acuity by 525.0% during the 1st quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 125 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Acuity during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Acuity by 50.5% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 161 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in Acuity in the 4th quarter valued at about $71,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Acuity by 520.0% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 248 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Acuity Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AYI opened at $313.44 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.62. The business's 50-day moving average price is $283.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $281.48. Acuity, Inc. has a one year low of $216.81 and a one year high of $345.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 9.63%. The business had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.15 EPS. Acuity's quarterly revenue was up 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Acuity, Inc. will post 15.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.22%. Acuity's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Acuity from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Acuity from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Acuity from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Acuity from $335.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Acuity has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $340.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Acuity Company 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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