Sycomore Asset Management Acquires New Position in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Sycomore Asset Management acquired a new stake in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 7,669 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $2,761,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Acuity by 0.5% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 6,269 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $2,159,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in Acuity by 1.8% in the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,134 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $637,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Acuity by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 617 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in Acuity by 1.6% during the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,488 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $857,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC grew its holdings in Acuity by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 6,805 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $2,450,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Acuity Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of AYI stock opened at $288.63 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.31. Acuity, Inc. has a one year low of $257.04 and a one year high of $380.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $288.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $311.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.36.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 2nd. The electronics maker reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.11 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 9.37%.Acuity’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.45 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 17th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on AYI. Weiss Ratings downgraded Acuity from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Acuity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, April 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Acuity from $342.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Acuity from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $369.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Acuity news, Director Maya Leibman bought 200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $288.83 per share, for a total transaction of $57,766.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 400 shares in the company, valued at $115,532. This represents a 100.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura O’shaughnessy bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $282.98 per share, with a total value of $282,980.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 3,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $880,350.78. This represents a 47.37% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.