Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 6,965 Shares of 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 trimmed its stake in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Free Report) by 32.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,395 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 6,965 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Acuity were worth $3,791,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AYI. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its stake in shares of Acuity by 6.7% in the first quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 77,657 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $20,451,000 after buying an additional 4,896 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Acuity by 22.3% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 9,236 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $2,432,000 after acquiring an additional 1,686 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Acuity by 24.1% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 958 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Acuity by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,357 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $2,464,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burney Co. grew its holdings in shares of Acuity by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Burney Co. now owns 1,272 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Acuity

In other news, SVP Barry R. Goldman sold 4,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.30, for a total transaction of $1,230,487.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 6,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,980,115.40. This represents a 38.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.04, for a total value of $1,806,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,628,243.84. This trade represents a 24.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Acuity Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE AYI opened at $311.32 on Friday. Acuity, Inc. has a 52-week low of $216.81 and a 52-week high of $345.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.99. The business has a fifty day moving average of $285.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $281.96. The stock has a market cap of $9.54 billion, a PE ratio of 24.53, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.62.

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

Acuity Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Acuity's payout ratio is presently 5.36%.

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.

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