Acuity (NYSE:AYI) SVP Sells $1,221,624.00 in Stock

Key Points

• SVP Barry Goldman sold 3,800 Acuity shares at an average price of $321.48, totaling $1.22 million. The sale, which reduced his holdings by 36.61%, was made to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards.
• Acuity shares rose 1.4% to $323.26, while the company’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations with $5.77 in EPS versus the $5.57 consensus estimate. Revenue reached $1.24 billion, up 2.9% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $374.20. Institutional investors own approximately 98.21% of Acuity’s outstanding stock.

Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) SVP Barry Goldman sold 3,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.48, for a total transaction of $1,221,624.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 6,580 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,115,338.40. This trade represents a 36.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Acuity Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE AYI traded up $4.54 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $323.26. 283,733 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 394,173. The stock has a market cap of $9.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.28. Acuity, Inc. has a one year low of $257.04 and a one year high of $380.17. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $318.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $310.44.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The electronics maker reported $5.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.57 by $0.20. Acuity had a net margin of 11.45% and a return on equity of 20.30%. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.20 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Acuity, Inc. will post 20.02 EPS for the current year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 16th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Acuity's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.68%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AYI. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Acuity during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,121,983,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Acuity during the second quarter worth about $106,018,000. Alua Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Acuity during the first quarter worth about $63,377,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Acuity in the 2nd quarter worth about $77,212,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Acuity by 87.9% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 213,801 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $59,911,000 after purchasing an additional 100,036 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Acuity in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Acuity from $440.00 to $415.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Acuity from $360.00 to $348.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. William Blair downgraded shares of Acuity from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Acuity from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $374.20.

About Acuity

Acuity NYSE: AYI, formerly known as Acuity Brands, is a technology company focused on improving how people experience and manage indoor and outdoor spaces. Its businesses develop lighting, lighting controls, building-management systems and related solutions for commercial, institutional, industrial and residential applications.

The company's offerings include LED lighting fixtures, connected lighting systems, sensors, controls, building automation technologies and location-aware software.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.