Fisher Asset Management LLC Has $121.73 Million Position in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Key Points

• Fisher Asset Management reduced its Acuity stake by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, but still held 338,104 shares valued at about $121.73 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but generally positive, with five Buy ratings and four Hold ratings; the consensus view is “Moderate Buy” and the average target price is $369.17.
• Acuity recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $4.14 EPS on revenue of $1.06 billion, and the company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share.

Fisher Asset Management LLC cut its position in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 338,104 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 21,177 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned 1.10% of Acuity worth $121,731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Acuity during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Acuity during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Acuity during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Acuity during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Acuity during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Acuity from $342.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Acuity from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, April 12th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Acuity from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Acuity from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $369.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Laura O'shaughnessy purchased 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $282.98 per share, for a total transaction of $282,980.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $880,350.78. This trade represents a 47.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Maya Leibman purchased 200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $288.83 per share, for a total transaction of $57,766.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,532. This trade represents a 100.00% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Acuity Trading Up 0.1%

AYI opened at $287.80 on Tuesday. Acuity, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $253.03 and a fifty-two week high of $380.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.10, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.32. The company's 50 day moving average price is $281.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $316.25.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 2nd. The electronics maker reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.11 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. Acuity had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 20.74%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.45 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Acuity's payout ratio is 5.87%.

Acuity Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AYI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report).

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.