Acuity, Inc. $AYI Shares Sold by Nordea Investment Management AB

Nordea Investment Management AB lessened its stake in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 44,880 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 5,797 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Acuity were worth $16,242,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AYI. Vest Financial LLC raised its position in Acuity by 121.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 9,312 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $3,207,000 after buying an additional 5,105 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Acuity by 98.4% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 571,017 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $196,653,000 after acquiring an additional 283,203 shares during the period. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Acuity by 6.9% in the third quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. now owns 99,560 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $34,287,000 after acquiring an additional 6,452 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Acuity by 9.0% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 96,784 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $33,332,000 after acquiring an additional 7,973 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Acuity during the second quarter worth about $119,587,000. 98.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 4,974 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was 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 directly owned 21,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,655,557.29. This trade represents a 18.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AYI shares. Robert W. Baird set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Acuity in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Acuity in a research note on Monday, December 29th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Acuity currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $389.33.

Acuity Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE AYI opened at $282.74 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.50. Acuity, Inc. has a 52 week low of $216.81 and a 52 week high of $380.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $299.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $336.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 8th. The electronics maker reported $4.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.24. Acuity had a net margin of 9.04% and a return on equity of 20.97%. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.97 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Acuity, Inc. will post 15.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is an increase from Acuity’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Acuity’s payout ratio is currently 6.15%.

About Acuity

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.