Quilter Plc Makes New Investment in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

Quilter Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 14,130 shares of the electronics maker's stock, valued at approximately $3,721,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AYI. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Acuity during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Acuity in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Acuity by 50.5% in 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 in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Acuity by 45.3% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 250 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Acuity during the 4th quarter valued at $71,000. 98.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AYI shares. Morgan Stanley set a $335.00 price target on shares of Acuity in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Acuity from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird set a $315.00 price target on Acuity and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Acuity from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Acuity currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $323.60.

Acuity Price Performance

AYI stock opened at $304.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.95. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $261.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $282.82. Acuity, Inc. has a 52-week low of $216.81 and a 52-week high of $345.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.08, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.60.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 26th. The electronics maker reported $5.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.44 by $0.68. Acuity had a return on equity of 19.73% and a net margin of 10.53%. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.15 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 21.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Acuity, Inc. will post 15.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Acuity's dividend payout ratio is presently 5.16%.

Acuity Company 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.

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