Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Increases Position in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in Acuity by 22.7%, buying an additional 5,576 shares to hold 30,103 shares worth about $10.88 million (roughly 0.10% of the company).
• Several large institutional moves include Orion Portfolio Solutions buying roughly 2.27 million shares ($676.8M) and Millennium Management doubling its stake to 571,017 shares, leaving institutional investors owning about 98.21% of Acuity's stock.
• Analyst sentiment is a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $369.17 (five Buys, four Holds), and the company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 (annualized $0.80, ~0.3% yield).

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its position in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 22.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,103 shares of the electronics maker's stock after purchasing an additional 5,576 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.10% of Acuity worth $10,878,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in Acuity by 50,220.2% in the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 2,268,433 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $676,764,000 after buying an additional 2,263,925 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Acuity by 98.4% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 571,017 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $196,653,000 after buying an additional 283,203 shares during the last quarter. Palestra Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Acuity during the 3rd quarter worth about $91,539,000. UBS Group AG boosted its position in shares of Acuity by 345.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 224,729 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $77,394,000 after acquiring an additional 174,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Acuity in the 3rd quarter valued at about $54,514,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AYI shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Friday, March 27th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Acuity from $342.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Acuity from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $369.17.

Acuity Stock Up 0.2%

AYI stock opened at $290.03 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $8.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $283.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $326.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.36. Acuity, Inc. has a 12 month low of $234.98 and a 12 month high of $380.17.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 17th. Acuity's dividend payout ratio is presently 5.87%.

Insider Transactions at Acuity

In related news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 4,974 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.23, for a total value of $1,538,110.02. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 21,523 shares in the company, valued at $6,655,557.29. The trade was a 18.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Laura O'shaughnessy acquired 1,000 shares of Acuity stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $282.98 per share, with a total value of $282,980.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 3,111 shares in the company, valued at $880,350.78. The trade was a 47.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Acuity Profile

Acuity Brands, Inc NYSE: AYI is a leading provider of lighting fixtures, controls and building management solutions designed for commercial, institutional, industrial and residential markets. The company's core offerings include a broad range of LED luminaires, lighting controls, sensors and networked building systems that enhance energy efficiency, occupant comfort and operational productivity. Acuity Brands' portfolio spans indoor and outdoor lighting fixtures, emergency lighting, task lighting and architectural products, as well as advanced controls such as daylight harvesting, occupancy sensing and wireless sensor networks.

Beyond traditional lighting, Acuity Brands delivers integrated digital solutions through its Connected Building platform, which combines smart sensors, cloud-based analytics and mobile applications to enable real-time monitoring and remote management of lighting and environmental systems.

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