J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Sells 32,481 Shares of Acuity, Inc. $AYI

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lowered its stake in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 51.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,165 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 32,481 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Acuity were worth $10,861,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AYI. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in Acuity by 50,220.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,263,925 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity in the 2nd quarter worth about $119,587,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Acuity during the 2nd quarter valued at about $115,595,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Acuity by 98.4% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 571,017 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $196,653,000 after purchasing an additional 283,203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Palestra Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Acuity during the third quarter valued at about $91,539,000. 98.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Acuity

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 transaction 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 $6,655,557.29. This trade represents a 18.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AYI. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Acuity from $375.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Acuity from $425.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Wall Street Zen cut Acuity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Acuity currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $380.17.

Acuity Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of Acuity stock opened at $272.15 on Tuesday. Acuity, Inc. has a 1 year low of $216.81 and a 1 year high of $380.17. The firm has a market cap of $8.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.93, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $296.28 and a 200 day moving average of $334.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

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

Acuity Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 17th. Acuity’s payout ratio is currently 6.15%.

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.