VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Makes New $6.58 Million Investment in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems acquired 17,460 Acuity shares worth approximately $6.58 million in the second quarter, while institutional investors collectively owned 98.21% of the company.
• Acuity exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $5.31 in EPS versus the $5.17 consensus estimate and $1.20 billion in revenue, up 1.6% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $397.17, compared with the stock’s reported price of $325.73; the company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 17,460 shares of the electronics maker's stock, valued at approximately $6,576,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned approximately 0.06% of Acuity at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in Acuity by 35,316.0% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 12,575,171 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $4,736,564,000 after purchasing an additional 12,539,664 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Acuity in the second quarter valued at $1,121,983,000. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Acuity by 50,220.2% during the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 2,268,433 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $676,764,000 after buying an additional 2,263,925 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Acuity during the fourth quarter worth $138,747,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Acuity in the second quarter valued at $106,018,000. Institutional investors own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Acuity Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AYI opened at $325.73 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $341.17 and a 200-day moving average of $309.13. Acuity, Inc. has a 12 month low of $257.04 and a 12 month high of $380.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.75 billion, a PE ratio of 21.60, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.29.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $0.14. Acuity had a net margin of 10.25% and a return on equity of 20.26%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.12 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 17th. Acuity's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AYI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Acuity from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Acuity from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 30th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $465.00 price target on Acuity in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $397.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Karen Holcom sold 2,000 shares of Acuity stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.62, for a total value of $659,240.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 17,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,750,880.14. This trade represents a 10.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

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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