Quantinno Capital Management LP Decreases Holdings in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Quantinno Capital Management LP trimmed its position in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 45.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 70,662 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 58,846 shares during the quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP’s holdings in Acuity were worth $19,801,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in shares of Acuity in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,019,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Acuity by 499.6% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 164,275 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $59,145,000 after buying an additional 136,879 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in Acuity by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 308,665 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $111,132,000 after buying an additional 83,936 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in Acuity by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 92,134 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $33,172,000 after acquiring an additional 21,118 shares during the period. Finally, Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension bought a new position in Acuity in the fourth quarter worth approximately $22,572,000. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AYI. Oppenheimer set a $465.00 price objective on shares of Acuity in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Acuity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.17.

Acuity Price Performance

NYSE AYI opened at $328.53 on Friday. Acuity, Inc. has a 12 month low of $257.04 and a 12 month high of $380.17. The stock has a market cap of $9.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.79, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50 day moving average is $324.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $303.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. Acuity had a net margin of 10.25% and a return on equity of 20.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.12 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 17th. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.31%.

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.