Apollon Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 29.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,441 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Acuity were worth $1,325,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. increased its stake in Acuity by 7.9% in the second quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 26,152 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $7,802,000 after purchasing an additional 1,909 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its stake in Acuity by 4.0% in the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 26,200 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $7,817,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Acuity by 12.1% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,279 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $3,067,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Acuity in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in Acuity in the second quarter valued at $186,000. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on AYI. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Acuity from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Acuity from $365.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Acuity from $335.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Acuity from $312.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Acuity presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $395.17.

Acuity Stock Up 3.4%

AYI stock opened at $359.76 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $333.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $292.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.03 billion, a PE ratio of 28.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.64. Acuity, Inc. has a 12 month low of $216.81 and a 12 month high of $375.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.33.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 17th will be given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 17th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.43%.

Acuity Company Profile

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.