Intech Investment Management LLC Raises Holdings in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Acuity, Inc. by 20.7% during the 1st quarter, owning approximately 0.09% of the company valued at $7.5 million.
• Acuity Brands reported an EPS of $5.12, exceeding analysts' expectations and achieving a revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, representing a year-over-year increase of 21.7%.
• Several institutional investors are bullish on Acuity, with Wells Fargo upgrading its rating to "overweight" and raising the price target to $380, reflecting confidence in the company's growth potential.

Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 20.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 28,533 shares of the electronics maker's stock after buying an additional 4,886 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Acuity worth $7,514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in Acuity by 2.4% during the first quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,935 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $510,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in Acuity by 3.2% during the first quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 1,526 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in Acuity by 0.3% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 15,389 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $4,053,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Acuity by 1.8% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Acuity by 15.0% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 429 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Acuity Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of AYI stock traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $341.11. The company had a trading volume of 119,260 shares, compared to its average volume of 329,802. Acuity, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $216.81 and a fifty-two week high of $345.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The company's fifty day moving average is $315.47 and its 200 day moving average is $281.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.45 billion, a PE ratio of 26.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.65.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 9.63%.The company had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.15 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Acuity, Inc. will post 15.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AYI shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Acuity from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Acuity from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Acuity from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $320.00 to $380.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Acuity from $335.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $352.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Acuity

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

Acuity Profile

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.