Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) by 4.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 68,028 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,623 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Acuity were worth $19,063,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Acuity by 8,338.5% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,097 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 1,084 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Acuity by 17.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 76,543 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $20,158,000 after acquiring an additional 11,144 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Acuity by 372.7% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 208 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Acuity by 1.8% during the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,134 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $637,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Acuity during the second quarter valued at $762,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Trending Headlines about Acuity

Here are the key news stories impacting Acuity this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research lifted Acuity’s FY2027 EPS estimate to $20.26 from $20.07 and FY2028 EPS to $21.96 from $21.77, suggesting stronger longer-term earnings power.
• Positive Sentiment: The firm also raised its Q3 2027 estimate to $5.53 from $5.32 and Q4 2027 estimate to $5.60 from $5.57, indicating continued confidence in near-term performance.
• Positive Sentiment: Several revised estimates remain above the current full-year consensus of $18.44 EPS, reinforcing the view that Acuity may outperform expectations.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks also trimmed a few quarterly estimates, including Q4 2026 to $5.14 from $5.23, Q2 2027 to $4.31 from $4.40, and Q1 2028 to $5.09 from $5.11, which slightly tempers the overall bullish tone.

Insider Transactions at Acuity

In related news, Director Maya Leibman purchased 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $288.83 per share, with a total value of $57,766.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 400 shares in the company, valued at $115,532. The trade was a 100.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Acuity Stock Up 1.8%

AYI stock opened at $331.82 on Thursday. Acuity, Inc. has a 1-year low of $257.04 and a 1-year high of $380.17. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $316.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $304.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Acuity Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Acuity’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.