HighTower Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Acme United Co. (NYSE:ACU)

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Acme United Co. (NYSE:ACU) by 13.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 8,832 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,048 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Acme United were worth $364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sei Investments Co. bought a new stake in Acme United during the 2nd quarter valued at $209,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Acme United in the second quarter valued at about $291,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in Acme United by 7.5% in the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 10,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 723 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Acme United by 68.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 16,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $580,000 after acquiring an additional 6,713 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC grew its holdings in Acme United by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 23,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Acme United from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st.

Acme United Stock Performance

ACU stock opened at $37.89 on Monday. Acme United Co. has a one year low of $32.85 and a one year high of $50.99. The firm has a market cap of $141.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.75 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 4.41. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.38.

Acme United (NYSE:ACU) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $48.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.40 million. Acme United had a net margin of 10.25% and a return on equity of 9.70%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Acme United Co. will post 2.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Acme United Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. Acme United’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.27%.

Acme United Profile

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.