21,000 Shares in Acuity, Inc. $AYI Acquired by Value Holdings Management CO. LLC

Value Holdings Management CO. LLC acquired a new stake in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 21,000 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $7,910,000. Acuity makes up 1.3% of Value Holdings Management CO. LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Value Holdings Management CO. LLC owned about 0.07% of Acuity as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AYI. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Acuity in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Acuity in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Acuity during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Acuity during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Acuity in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. 98.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Acuity Stock Down 1.8%

AYI stock opened at $342.43 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.71, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.05. Acuity, Inc. has a one year low of $257.04 and a one year high of $380.17. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $338.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $307.57.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.26% and a net margin of 10.25%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.12 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.49 EPS for the current year.

Acuity Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on AYI. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Oppenheimer set a $465.00 price target on shares of Acuity in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised 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. 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.17.

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.