Markel Group Inc. Has $2.57 Million Stake in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

Markel Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 225.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,750 shares of the electronics maker's stock after purchasing an additional 6,750 shares during the quarter. Markel Group Inc.'s holdings in Acuity were worth $2,568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its position in Acuity by 525.0% during the 1st quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 125 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in Acuity in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Acuity by 50.5% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 161 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of Acuity during the fourth quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Acuity by 520.0% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 248 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Acuity

In other news, SVP Barry R. Goldman sold 4,125 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.30, for a total transaction of $1,230,487.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 6,638 shares in the company, valued at $1,980,115.40. The trade was a 38.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,696 shares in the company, valued at $5,628,243.84. This trade represents a 24.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.80% of the company's stock.

Acuity Price Performance

Shares of Acuity stock traded up $1.45 on Friday, hitting $292.51. The company had a trading volume of 219,671 shares, compared to its average volume of 306,570. Acuity, Inc. has a 52 week low of $216.81 and a 52 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 has a market cap of $8.96 billion, a PE ratio of 23.05, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.62. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $279.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $281.91.

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

Acuity Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Acuity's dividend payout ratio is presently 5.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Acuity from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Acuity from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Acuity from $335.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Acuity from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Acuity currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $340.60.

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.