Karen Holcom Sells 2,000 Shares of Acuity (NYSE:AYI) Stock

Key Points

• Acuity CFO Karen Holcom sold 2,000 shares at an average price of $329.62, generating $659,240. The Rule 10b5-1 transaction reduced her ownership by 10.28%, leaving her with 17,447 shares.
• Acuity recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $5.31 in EPS on $1.20 billion in revenue, while quarterly revenue rose 1.6% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.17 versus the stock’s reported price of $329.04.

Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) CFO Karen Holcom sold 2,000 shares of Acuity stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.62, for a total transaction of $659,240.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Acuity Stock Performance

Acuity stock traded down $1.55 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $329.04. 255,210 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 206,035. Acuity, Inc. has a 52-week low of $257.04 and a 52-week high of $380.17. The stock has a market cap of $9.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.05. The firm's 50 day moving average is $343.40 and its 200 day moving average is $308.69.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. Acuity had a net margin of 10.25% and a return on equity of 20.26%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.12 earnings per share. 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 given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Acuity's payout ratio is presently 5.31%.

Institutional Trading of Acuity

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AYI. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 12,539,664 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,121,983,000. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC grew its stake in Acuity by 50,220.2% in the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 2,268,433 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $676,764,000 after acquiring an additional 2,263,925 shares during the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in Acuity by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,363,619 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $469,617,000 after acquiring an additional 113,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Acuity by 8.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 635,160 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $177,970,000 after acquiring an additional 47,880 shares during the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Acuity Company 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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