Legal & General Group Plc Sells 14,320 Shares of Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its stake in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 22.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,627 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 14,320 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.16% of Acuity worth $17,508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AYI. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Acuity by 6,496.7% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 692,189 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $249,216,000 after purchasing an additional 681,696 shares in the last quarter. 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. Palestra Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Acuity during the 3rd quarter valued at about $91,539,000. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Acuity by 345.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 224,729 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $77,394,000 after purchasing an additional 174,265 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Acuity Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Acuity stock opened at $307.62 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 2.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.33 billion, a PE ratio of 22.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.31. Acuity, Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.03 and a 52-week high of $380.17. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $284.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $314.15.

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

Acuity Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 17th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Acuity’s payout ratio is 5.87%.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Acuity from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Acuity from $342.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Acuity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Acuity from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Five equities research 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $369.17.

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.