Norges Bank Purchases Shares of 385,365 Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Norges Bank purchased a new position in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYIFree Report) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 385,365 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $138,747,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AYI. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Acuity during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Acuity during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Acuity during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Acuity during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its stake in Acuity by 59.2% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 113 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AYI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Acuity from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Acuity from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Acuity from $342.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Acuity from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Acuity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Acuity presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $369.17.

Get Our Latest Research Report on Acuity

Acuity Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of AYI opened at $308.25 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Acuity, Inc. has a 12 month low of $257.04 and a 12 month high of $380.17. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $287.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $313.23.

Acuity (NYSE:AYIGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 2nd. The electronics maker reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.11 by $0.03. Acuity had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 9.37%.The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.45 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Acuity, Inc. will post 18.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Acuity Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 17th were paid 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 currently 5.87%.

Acuity Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Acuity (NYSE:AYI)

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