Engineers Gate Manager LP Sells 7,457 Shares of Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Key Points

• Engineers Gate Manager LP cut its Acuity stake by 63.2% in the second quarter, selling 7,457 shares and retaining 4,338 shares valued at approximately $1.63 million.
• Institutional investors own 98.21% of Acuity’s stock, with several funds increasing or initiating positions during recent quarters.
• Acuity exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $5.31 EPS and $1.20 billion in revenue. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $397.17, above the reported share price of $297.19.

Engineers Gate Manager LP decreased its position in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 63.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,338 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 7,457 shares during the quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP's holdings in Acuity were worth $1,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in Acuity by 57.0% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 31,233 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $11,245,000 after acquiring an additional 11,341 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in shares of Acuity by 8.8% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 42,944 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $16,175,000 after acquiring an additional 3,478 shares during the last quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. acquired a new position in shares of Acuity during the second quarter worth $9,736,000. Havemeyer Place LP acquired a new position in shares of Acuity during the fourth quarter worth $1,259,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its stake in shares of Acuity by 1,834.0% in the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 21,235 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $5,950,000 after purchasing an additional 20,137 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Acuity Stock Performance

AYI stock opened at $297.19 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $336.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $309.30. Acuity, Inc. has a 1-year low of $257.04 and a 1-year high of $380.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market cap of $8.90 billion, a PE ratio of 19.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.29.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 10.25%.The firm's revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.12 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 17th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Acuity's dividend payout ratio is currently 5.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Acuity news, CFO Karen Holcom sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 17,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,750,880.14. This trade represents a 10.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Oppenheimer set a $465.00 price objective on Acuity in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Acuity from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $397.17.

About Acuity

Acuity, formerly known as Acuity Brands, Inc, is an industrial technology company that develops products and systems for lighting, building management and connected spaces. Its offerings are designed for commercial, institutional, industrial and residential applications, helping customers manage illumination, energy use, occupancy and other aspects of the built environment.

The company's lighting portfolio includes indoor and outdoor fixtures, lighting controls, and related components.

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