Krilogy Financial LLC Invests $597,000 in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Krilogy Financial LLC purchased a new position in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,643 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $597,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in Acuity by 121.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 9,312 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $3,207,000 after buying an additional 5,105 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. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Acuity during the second quarter valued at approximately $119,587,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Acuity by 9.0% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 96,784 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $33,332,000 after purchasing an additional 7,973 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Acuity in the second quarter worth approximately $407,000. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Acuity Price Performance

NYSE AYI opened at $305.91 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Acuity, Inc. has a 1 year low of $216.81 and a 1 year high of $380.17. The company has a market cap of $9.38 billion, a PE ratio of 23.53, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $340.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $342.95.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last released 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 business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.97 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Acuity, Inc. will post 15.86 EPS for the current year.

Acuity Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Acuity

In related news, CFO Karen J. Holcom sold 4,974 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.23, for a total transaction of $1,538,110.02. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AYI. Robert W. Baird set a $375.00 price target on Acuity in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Acuity from $425.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 12th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Acuity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Acuity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Five research 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $395.17.

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.