Acuity, Inc. $AYI Shares Acquired by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,964 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,550 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Acuity were worth $2,398,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AYI. CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Acuity during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Acuity by 21.8% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 54,700 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $14,405,000 after purchasing an additional 9,800 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in Acuity by 290.3% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 722 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $190,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the period. Perbak Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Acuity in the first quarter valued at $318,000. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in Acuity during the 1st quarter worth about $28,341,000. 98.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Acuity news, SVP Barry R. Goldman sold 4,489 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.11, for a total transaction of $1,638,978.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 6,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,211,106.16. This represents a 42.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Acuity Stock Performance

NYSE:AYI opened at $364.82 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.20 billion, a PE ratio of 29.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.49. Acuity, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $216.81 and a fifty-two week high of $379.17. The company has a fifty day moving average of $362.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $335.76.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 1st. The electronics maker reported $5.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.84 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. Acuity had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.30 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Acuity, Inc. will post 15.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Acuity from $365.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Acuity in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Acuity from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Acuity from $380.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Monday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $395.17.

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.