Acuity, Inc. $AYI Shares Sold by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cut its holdings in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 38.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,746 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 7,899 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Acuity were worth $4,390,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new position in shares of Acuity during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position 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 during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Acuity during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Acuity in the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Acuity by 122.2% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 100 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Acuity Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:AYI opened at $313.20 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $350.69 and a 200-day moving average of $340.97. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $216.81 and a twelve month high of $380.17.

Acuity (NYSE:AYI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 8th. The electronics maker reported $4.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.97% and a net margin of 9.04%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.97 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Acuity, Inc. will post 15.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Acuity in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of Acuity from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Acuity from $380.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird set a $375.00 price objective on Acuity in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Acuity in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Acuity presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $395.17.

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.