Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $3.79 Million Stake in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank reduced its stake in Acuity, Inc. by 32.6%, selling 6,965 shares, with their holdings now valued at approximately $3.79 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB and Cetera Investment Advisers, increased their positions in Acuity during the same period.
• Acuity reported earnings of $5.12 per share for the recent quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a revenue increase of 21.7% year-over-year.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lowered its stake in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 32.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,395 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 6,965 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Acuity were worth $3,791,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its position in shares of Acuity by 525.0% during the first quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 125 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Acuity during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Acuity by 50.5% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 161 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Acuity during the fourth quarter worth approximately $71,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Acuity by 520.0% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 248 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Acuity Stock Performance

AYI stock traded up $1.14 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $311.49. The company had a trading volume of 138,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 349,247. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $9.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.64. Acuity, Inc. has a one year low of $216.81 and a one year high of $345.30. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $287.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $281.05.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 26th. The electronics maker reported $5.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.44 by $0.68. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 9.63%. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.15 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.15 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Acuity, Inc. will post 15.86 EPS for the current year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Acuity

In related news, 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 6,638 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,980,115.40. This trade represents a 38.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 6,000 shares of Acuity 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 represents a 24.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AYI. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Acuity from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Acuity from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Acuity from $335.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Acuity from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $340.60.

About Acuity

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.