Wellington Management Group LLP Decreases Stock Position in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Key Points

• Wellington Management reduced its Acuity position by 13.7% in the second quarter, selling 104,825 shares and retaining 658,213 shares worth approximately $247.9 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 98.21% of the company.
• Acuity exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $5.31 EPS versus the $5.17 consensus estimate and $1.20 billion in revenue, up 1.6% year over year. Analysts project $18.49 in full-year EPS.
• The stock opened at $335.44, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $397.17. Acuity also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.20, representing a 0.2% yield.

Wellington Management Group LLP lowered its position in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 13.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 658,213 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 104,825 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 2.20% of Acuity worth $247,923,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Acuity by 8,338.5% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,097 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Acuity by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 76,543 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $20,158,000 after purchasing an additional 11,144 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Acuity by 372.7% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 208 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in Acuity by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,134 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $637,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Acuity in the 2nd quarter worth $762,000. 98.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Acuity Stock Performance

AYI stock opened at $335.44 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $10.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.30. Acuity, Inc. has a 12-month low of $257.04 and a 12-month high of $380.17. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $342.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $308.37.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 10.25%.The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.18 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.12 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.49 EPS for the current year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 17th were given 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 was Friday, July 17th. Acuity's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Acuity from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Oppenheimer set a $465.00 price target on Acuity in a report on Friday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Acuity from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $397.17.

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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