UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Invests $1.47 Million in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Key Points

• UniSuper Management Pty Ltd has invested approximately $1.47 million in Acuity, Inc. by purchasing 5,567 shares, as revealed in a recent 13F filing with the SEC.
• Acuity reported strong quarterly earnings with an EPS of $5.12, surpassing analysts' expectations of $4.44, and an annual revenue growth of 21.7%.
• The stock has received multiple ratings upgrades from analysts, aiming for a target price increase from $320 to $380, reflecting positive market sentiment.

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 5,567 shares of the electronics maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,466,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in Acuity by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,935 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $510,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Acuity by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 1,526 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in Acuity by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 15,389 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $4,053,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Acuity by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,188 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $840,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Acuity by 15.0% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 429 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Acuity Stock Performance

AYI opened at $330.84 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $10.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $313.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $281.07. Acuity, Inc. has a 52-week low of $216.81 and a 52-week high of $345.30.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.44 by $0.68. Acuity had a net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 20.35%. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.15 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.15 EPS. Acuity's revenue for the quarter was up 21.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Acuity, Inc. will post 15.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Barry R. Goldman sold 4,125 shares of Acuity 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 6,638 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,980,115.40. This trade represents a 38.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AYI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Acuity from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $320.00 to $380.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Acuity from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Acuity from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $352.60.

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.

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