Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 1,625 Shares of Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its stake in Acuity, Inc. by 13.7% during the 1st quarter, decreasing its holdings to 10,252 shares worth approximately $2.70 million.
• Acuity Brands reported a quarterly EPS of $5.12, beating analysts' estimates of $4.44, alongside a 21.7% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Research analysts have set new price targets for Acuity, with Morgan Stanley raising theirs from $335.00 to $365.00 and maintaining an "overweight" rating.

Hsbc Holdings PLC decreased its stake in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 13.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,252 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 1,625 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Acuity were worth $2,698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Acuity during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $250,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Acuity by 12.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 863 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in shares of Acuity by 3.0% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 3,592 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Acuity by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 99,827 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $26,290,000 after buying an additional 14,218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Acuity by 38.2% during the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 186,021 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $48,989,000 after buying an additional 51,430 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

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

Acuity Stock Down 1.1%

AYI stock traded down $3.57 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $325.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 231,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 241,301. The company has a market cap of $9.99 billion, a PE ratio of 25.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.65. Acuity, Inc. has a 12 month low of $216.81 and a 12 month high of $345.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm's 50-day moving average is $308.47 and its 200-day moving average is $279.94.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 26th. The electronics maker reported $5.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.44 by $0.68. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 9.63%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 21.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.15 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Acuity, Inc. will post 15.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Acuity's dividend payout ratio is currently 5.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AYI. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Acuity from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Acuity from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Acuity from $335.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Acuity from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $340.60.

About Acuity

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.