Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Lowers Stock Position in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ decreased its holdings in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 81.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 11,288 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 51,069 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Acuity were worth $3,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Acuity by 25.6% in the third quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 152 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Illumine Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Acuity by 1.2% in the third quarter. Illumine Investment Management LLC now owns 2,872 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $989,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Acuity by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 5,577 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,921,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of Acuity by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,134 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Acuity by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,013 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. 98.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Acuity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Acuity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Acuity from $425.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Acuity in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $395.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 4,974 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.23, for a total value of $1,538,110.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 21,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,655,557.29. The trade was a 18.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Acuity Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Acuity stock opened at $311.17 on Friday. Acuity, Inc. has a 1 year low of $216.81 and a 1 year high of $380.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $334.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $342.73. The company has a market capitalization of $9.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.50.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 8th. The electronics maker reported $4.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.45 by $0.24. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.97% and a net margin of 9.04%.The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.97 EPS. Acuity’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Acuity, Inc. will post 15.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. This is a boost from Acuity’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.15%.

Acuity 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.