ACME UNITED (ACU) Director Davidson Exercises Options, Sells Shares

What Happened

• Davidson Rex Lynn, a director of ACME UNITED CORP (ACU), exercised 5,000 stock options on 2026-08-05 at an exercise price of $28.20 (gross value $141,000). The exercise was effected on a net share settlement basis, resulting in 2,544 shares being withheld to cover the exercise/tax liability (reported as a disposal valued at $141,014). On 2026-08-10 he sold 3,684 shares in an open-market transaction at $56.48 per share, generating proceeds of $208,072. Overall, these actions are primarily disposals (sales/withholding) following an options exercise.

Key Details

• Transaction dates and prices:
  • 2026-08-05: Exercised 5,000 options @ $28.20 (M) — reported acquisition value $141,000.
  • 2026-08-05: 2,544 shares withheld to pay exercise price/taxes @ $55.43 (F) — reported disposition value $141,014.
  • 2026-08-10: Open-market sale of 3,684 shares @ $56.48 (S) — proceeds $208,072.
• Shares owned after transaction: Not specified in the Form 4 filing.
• Footnote: F1 — the option exercise was effected on a net share settlement basis (shares were withheld to cover exercise price/taxes).
• Filing timeliness: Transaction date 2026-08-05; Form 4 filed 2026-08-11 — this was filed later than the 2-business-day deadline for Form 4s.

Context

• This was an option exercise followed by net share settlement (a common cashless method where some shares are withheld to cover costs/taxes), and an additional open-market sale. Net-settlement and withholding lines (code F) indicate shares were surrendered rather than a separate cash payment for taxes. These movements are routine insider transactions and do not, by themselves, indicate management sentiment.