James Mitarotonda Purchases 1,679 Shares of Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) Stock

Eastern Company (The) (NASDAQ:EML) Director James Mitarotonda acquired 1,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $21.40 per share, for a total transaction of $35,930.60. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 46,190 shares in the company, valued at $988,466. This represents a 3.77% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Eastern Stock Up 0.1%

EML stock traded up $0.03 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $21.91. The stock had a trading volume of 7,983 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,906. Eastern Company has a 1-year low of $17.61 and a 1-year high of $26.77. The company has a current ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $132.12 million, a P/E ratio of 22.79 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $21.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.03.

Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 12th. The industrial products company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.39). Eastern had a return on equity of 5.46% and a net margin of 2.41%.The firm had revenue of $59.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.74 million.

Eastern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Eastern’s payout ratio is currently 45.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered shares of Eastern from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Trading of Eastern

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barington Companies Management LLC raised its stake in Eastern by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Barington Companies Management LLC now owns 634,933 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,502,000 after buying an additional 4,833 shares in the last quarter. Minerva Advisors LLC raised its stake in Eastern by 1.0% during the third quarter. Minerva Advisors LLC now owns 530,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,435,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its stake in Eastern by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 515,545 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,151,000 after acquiring an additional 3,827 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Eastern by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 388,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,645,000 after acquiring an additional 1,571 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Eastern by 0.3% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 257,126 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,032,000 after acquiring an additional 775 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

About Eastern

Eastern (NASDAQ:EML), based in West Haven, Connecticut, is a diversified industrial manufacturer specializing in secure hardware and metal finishing services. The company operates through two primary segments: Industrial Hardware Products and Security Products, complemented by a Metal Coatings division. Its Industrial Hardware Products segment produces cold-headed fasteners, forgings, hinges and precision components for heavy commercial vehicles, hydraulic cylinders and industrial machinery.

The Security Products segment designs and manufactures a wide range of lock and latch solutions, including padlocks, door hardware, cabinet locks and rental security towers for commercial and institutional applications.