The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Invests $8.06 Million in Acuity, Inc. $AYI

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in Acuity, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 21,396 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $8,059,000.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Acuity in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Acuity from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Acuity from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Acuity from $295.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Acuity from $315.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.17.

Acuity Price Performance

Acuity stock opened at $335.44 on Monday. Acuity, Inc. has a 52-week low of $257.04 and a 52-week high of $380.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $342.80 and its 200 day moving average is $308.37. The company has a market cap of $10.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.24, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Acuity Announces Dividend

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