Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Holdings in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors increased its Acuity position by 8.2% in Q1, buying 47,880 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 635,160 shares worth about $178 million.
• Insider buying also showed confidence in the stock, with Director Maya Leibman purchasing 200 shares at $288.83 each, doubling her ownership stake to 400 shares.
• Acuity reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $5.31 versus $5.17 expected and revenue of $1.20 billion, while analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with a consensus price target of $397.17.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 8.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 635,160 shares of the electronics maker's stock after acquiring an additional 47,880 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 2.09% of Acuity worth $177,970,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Acuity in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in Acuity during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. bought a new position in Acuity during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Acuity in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Acuity in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Acuity news, Director Maya Leibman acquired 200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $288.83 per share, with a total value of $57,766.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $115,532. This trade represents a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AYI. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Acuity from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $465.00 target price on Acuity in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Acuity has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $397.17.

Acuity Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of AYI stock opened at $330.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.05. Acuity, Inc. has a 52-week low of $257.04 and a 52-week high of $380.17. The company has a market capitalization of $9.89 billion, a PE ratio of 21.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.27. The business's fifty day moving average is $318.47 and its 200 day moving average is $304.56.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $0.14. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 10.25%.The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.12 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 17th. Acuity's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.31%.

Acuity 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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