JPMorgan Chase & Co. Grows Position in The Eastern Company (NASDAQ:EML)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of The Eastern Company (NASDAQ:EML - Free Report) by 165.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,221 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,974 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.31% of Eastern worth $510,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Eastern by 0.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 127,108 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,126,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Eastern by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 23,491 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $623,000 after buying an additional 955 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Eastern by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 29,755 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $790,000 after buying an additional 1,367 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Eastern by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 16,099 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 2,577 shares during the period. Finally, Minerva Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Eastern by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Minerva Advisors LLC now owns 500,978 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $13,296,000 after acquiring an additional 3,768 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastern Trading Down 2.6 %

Eastern stock traded down $0.56 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $20.67. 5,256 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,673. 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 firm has a market cap of $126.62 million, a PE ratio of -20.07 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.95. The Eastern Company has a 12-month low of $19.06 and a 12-month high of $35.03.

Eastern (NASDAQ:EML - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The industrial products company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter. Eastern had a negative net margin of 2.26% and a positive return on equity of 10.44%. The firm had revenue of $66.70 million during the quarter.

Eastern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. Eastern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -33.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Eastern from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note 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.