Acuity, Inc. $AYI Shares Sold by Great Lakes Advisors LLC

Great Lakes Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 47.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,950 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 21,713 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned about 0.08% of Acuity worth $8,248,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Acuity during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Acuity by 1,100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 96 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Acuity during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Acuity during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Acuity by 122.2% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 100 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Acuity Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AYI opened at $313.20 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $350.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $340.97. Acuity, Inc. has a 52-week low of $216.81 and a 52-week high of $380.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.50.

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

Acuity Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd. This is a positive change from Acuity’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AYI. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Acuity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Acuity from $380.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Acuity from $312.00 to $356.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Acuity has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $395.17.

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.