Royce & Associates LP Cuts Stock Holdings in Acme United Co. (NYSE:ACU)

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP reduced its stake in Acme United Co. by 3.5%, holding 163,664 shares after selling 6,000 during the first quarter, valued at approximately $6.48 million.
• Acme United recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.15 to $0.16, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.48%.
• Wall Street Zen upgraded Acme United's rating from "hold" to "buy" on May 9th, indicating a positive outlook for the company's stock.

Royce & Associates LP trimmed its stake in shares of Acme United Co. (NYSE:ACU - Free Report) by 3.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 163,664 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,000 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned about 4.36% of Acme United worth $6,483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACU. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Acme United in the fourth quarter valued at about $321,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Acme United in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Acme United in the fourth quarter valued at about $228,000. Citadel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Acme United by 33.8% in the fourth quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 23,743 shares of the company's stock valued at $886,000 after purchasing an additional 5,999 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Acme United by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,846 shares of the company's stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 691 shares in the last quarter. 62.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Acme United

In other news, COO Brian S. Olschan sold 1,001 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.01, for a total transaction of $40,050.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 41,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,648,772.09. This trade represents a 2.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 34.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Acme United Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE ACU traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $42.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 707 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,418. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.25. The stock has a market cap of $161.55 million, a P/E ratio of 8.71 and a beta of 0.65. Acme United Co. has a 52 week low of $32.85 and a 52 week high of $45.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 4.41 and a quick ratio of 1.91.

Acme United (NYSE:ACU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Acme United had a net margin of 10.25% and a return on equity of 9.70%.

Acme United Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This is an increase from Acme United's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Acme United's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised Acme United from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th.

About Acme United

Acme United Corporation supplies cutting, measuring, first aid, and sharpening products to the school, home, office, hardware, sporting goods, and industrial markets in the United States, Canada, Europe, and internationally. The company offers scissors, shears, knives, rulers, pencil sharpeners, paper trimmers, safety cutters, lettering products, glue guns, and other craft products under the Westcott brand name; and cutting tools under the Clauss brand.