The Eastern Company (NASDAQ:EML) Director Michael J. Mardy Buys 1,000 Shares

The Eastern Company (NASDAQ:EML – Get Rating) Director Michael J. Mardy acquired 1,000 shares of Eastern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.00 per share, with a total value of $16,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 4,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,408. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Eastern Price Performance

NASDAQ EML traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $16.86. The stock had a trading volume of 11,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,655. The Eastern Company has a twelve month low of $15.30 and a twelve month high of $24.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.69 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $21.42 and its 200 day moving average is $20.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 2.92 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

Eastern Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 15th were paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 14th. Eastern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.68%.

Institutional Trading of Eastern

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EML. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern in the 3rd quarter worth $3,765,000. Forager Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Eastern by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter. Forager Capital Management LLC now owns 443,327 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,692,000 after acquiring an additional 69,459 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in shares of Eastern by 24.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 118,122 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,403,000 after acquiring an additional 23,344 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Eastern by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 63,797 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,710,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Eastern by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 412,367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,604,000 after acquiring an additional 3,207 shares during the last quarter. 67.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on Eastern in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company.

Eastern Company Profile

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The Eastern Co engages in the design, manufacture and sale of industrial hardware, security products and metal products. It operates through the following segments: Engineered Solutions and Diversified Products. The Engineered Solutions segment consists of Big 3 Precision. The Diversified Products segment consists of Frazer & Jones, Greenwald Industries, and Argo EMS.