KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases New Holdings in Acushnet Holdings Corp. (NYSE:GOLF)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Acushnet Holdings Corp. (NYSE:GOLF) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 10,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $746,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Acushnet by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 102,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,260,000 after acquiring an additional 4,256 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Acushnet by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 18,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,342,000 after purchasing an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Acushnet by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP now owns 9,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $687,000 after buying an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Acushnet by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 11,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $793,000 after buying an additional 3,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Acushnet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $210,000. 53.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Acushnet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Acushnet from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $64.00 in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Compass Point upgraded shares of Acushnet from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $77.00 to $80.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Acushnet from $80.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Acushnet news, insider Steven Francis Pelisek sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.86, for a total value of $1,417,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,006 shares in the company, valued at $6,802,985.16. This represents a 17.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 54.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Acushnet Price Performance

NYSE GOLF opened at $67.49 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 2.10. The business’s fifty day moving average is $66.72 and its 200 day moving average is $67.74. The company has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a PE ratio of 22.96 and a beta of 0.79. Acushnet Holdings Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $58.54 and a fifty-two week high of $76.65.

Acushnet (NYSE:GOLF) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.33) by $0.31. Acushnet had a net margin of 7.78% and a return on equity of 21.45%. The company had revenue of $445.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $454.83 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Acushnet Holdings Corp. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Acushnet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. This is an increase from Acushnet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Acushnet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.23%.

About Acushnet

Acushnet Holdings Corp. designs, develops, manufactures, and distributes golf products in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, Korea, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Titleist Golf Balls, Titleist Golf Clubs, Titleist Golf Gear, and FootJoy Golf Wear.