Hsbc Holdings PLC Has $2.70 Million Stock Holdings in 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 position in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 13.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,252 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 1,625 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Acuity were worth $2,698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AYI. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Acuity by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,935 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $510,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Acuity by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 1,526 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of Acuity by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,188 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $840,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Acuity by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 429 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Acuity by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,403 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Acuity Price Performance

AYI opened at $332.98 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Acuity, Inc. has a 12 month low of $216.81 and a 12 month high of $345.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $304.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $280.11. The stock has a market cap of $10.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.64.

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

Acuity Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Acuity

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

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.

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