Macquarie Group Ltd. Buys 4,695 Shares of Acushnet Holdings Corp. (NYSE:GOLF)

Macquarie Group Ltd. boosted its position in Acushnet Holdings Corp. (NYSE:GOLF) by 0.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,398,917 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,695 shares during the period. Macquarie Group Ltd. owned approximately 2.08% of Acushnet worth $71,261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Acushnet by 55.2% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 19,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $771,000 after buying an additional 6,810 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Acushnet in the first quarter worth approximately $270,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Acushnet by 4.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,530,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,630,000 after purchasing an additional 64,464 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Acushnet by 10.1% in the first quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 51,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,092,000 after purchasing an additional 4,766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Acushnet by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,126,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,883,000 after buying an additional 24,312 shares during the last quarter. 53.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on GOLF shares. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Acushnet in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Acushnet from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Acushnet from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Acushnet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $61.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, August 21st. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on Acushnet from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.33.

Acushnet Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GOLF traded up $0.23 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $57.47. 46,804 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 349,471. Acushnet Holdings Corp. has a 52-week low of $42.06 and a 52-week high of $61.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $56.66 and a 200 day moving average of $52.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06 and a beta of 0.86.

Acushnet (NYSE:GOLF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $689.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $673.30 million. Acushnet had a net margin of 9.23% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Acushnet Holdings Corp. will post 2.9 EPS for the current year.

Acushnet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.195 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 31st. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Acushnet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.61%.

Insider Transactions at Acushnet

In related news, insider Brendan J. Reidy sold 17,000 shares of Acushnet stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.08, for a total transaction of $953,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 55,101 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,090,064.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Brendan J. Reidy sold 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.08, for a total value of $953,360.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 55,101 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,090,064.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Sean S. Sullivan sold 13,101 shares of Acushnet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.34, for a total transaction of $764,312.34. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 110,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,474,281.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 54.10% of the company’s stock.

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.