NewEdge Wealth LLC Acquires New Holdings in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

NewEdge Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,797 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $3,314,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Acuity in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,121,983,000. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Acuity by 50,220.2% in the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 2,268,433 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $676,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,263,925 shares in the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in Acuity by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 1,363,619 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $469,617,000 after purchasing an additional 113,720 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Acuity by 8.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 635,160 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $177,970,000 after purchasing an additional 47,880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its position in Acuity by 10.1% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 633,060 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $218,071,000 after purchasing an additional 58,085 shares during the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AYI. Weiss Ratings upgraded Acuity from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Oppenheimer set a $465.00 price objective on Acuity in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a research 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 MarketBeat, Acuity presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.17.

Acuity Stock Performance

Shares of AYI stock opened at $342.43 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.25 billion, a PE ratio of 22.71, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $338.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $307.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.47. Acuity, Inc. has a one year low of $257.04 and a one year high of $380.17.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The electronics maker reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during 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%. Acuity’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.12 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 17th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 17th. Acuity’s payout ratio is currently 5.31%.

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.