JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has $510,000 Stock Holdings in The Eastern Company (NASDAQ:EML)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in The Eastern Company (NASDAQ:EML - Free Report) by 165.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,221 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 11,974 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.31% of Eastern worth $510,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EML. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Eastern by 277.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,875 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 5,055 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Eastern by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 16,099 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 2,577 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Eastern by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 23,491 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $623,000 after acquiring an additional 955 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Eastern by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 29,755 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $790,000 after purchasing an additional 1,367 shares during the period. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its position in Eastern by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 55,395 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,470,000 after buying an additional 4,030 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eastern Price Performance

EML stock traded up $2.50 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $23.20. 15,119 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,456. The Eastern Company has a one year low of $19.06 and a one year high of $35.03. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.79. The company has a current ratio of 2.64, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $142.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.52 and a beta of 1.08.

Eastern (NASDAQ:EML - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Eastern had a negative net margin of 2.26% and a positive return on equity of 10.44%.

Eastern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Eastern's dividend payout ratio is -33.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Eastern from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th.

Eastern Profile

The Eastern Company designs, manufactures, and sells engineered solutions to industrial markets in the United States and internationally. The company offers turnkey returnable packaging solutions, which are used in the assembly processes of vehicles, aircraft, and durable goods, as well as in production processes of plastic packaging products, packaged consumer goods, and pharmaceuticals; designs and manufactures blow mold tools and injection blow mold tooling products, and 2-step stretch blow molds and related components for the stretch blow molding industry; and supplies blow molds and change parts to the food, beverage, healthcare, and chemical industries.