James Mitarotonda Acquires 5,067 Shares of Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) Stock

Eastern Company (The) (NASDAQ:EML) Director James Mitarotonda purchased 5,067 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $18.29 per share, with a total value of $92,675.43. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 640,000 shares in the company, valued at $11,705,600. This trade represents a 0.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Eastern Price Performance

EML stock opened at $20.16 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $18.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.52. Eastern Company has a 12-month low of $17.61 and a 12-month high of $27.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.23 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 3.59, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $248.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.68 million. Eastern had a return on equity of 6.52% and a net margin of 2.90%.

Eastern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Eastern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.61%.

Key Eastern News

Here are the key news stories impacting Eastern this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple directors bought stock recently (James A. Mitarotonda purchased 2,342 shares on Mar 9 and also bought 5,067 shares on Mar 6; Director Frederick Disanto bought 1,000 shares on Mar 6) — insider purchases often signal management confidence and can support the share price. Insider Buying: Eastern (NASDAQ:EML) Director Acquires 2,342 Shares of Stock
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced a quarterly dividend ($0.11 per share; $0.44 annualized, ~2.3% yield) and a March 13 payment date — dividends support investor demand from income-oriented holders. Eastern Stock Summary & Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Board changes announced: Eastern disclosed director retirements and governance adjustments — this is a structural change that may be neutral short-term but relevant for governance/institutional holders. Eastern Company Announces Director Retirements and Governance Changes
• Neutral Sentiment: Unrelated company press: Eastern Resources completed a Marengo Gold Project acquisition — this concerns Eastern Resources Limited (AU:EFE), not The Eastern Company (EML), so it’s unlikely to affect EML materially. Eastern Resources Completes Acquisition of Historic Marengo Gold Project
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data in the feeds shows effectively zero reported short interest (likely a reporting quirk); this suggests no material short squeeze dynamics at present. (Source aggregated market feeds.)
• Negative Sentiment: Recent quarterly results included an EPS miss (reported $0.31 vs. $0.36 consensus) and modest margins/ROE, which is a headwind for sentiment—investors may be balancing that weak print against the insider buys and dividend. Market summary with recent earnings

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EML has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Eastern to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eastern in a report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Trading of Eastern

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Eastern by 43.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 20,533 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $520,000 after acquiring an additional 6,219 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eastern by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 31,855 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $807,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the period. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Eastern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $127,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eastern during the second quarter valued at approximately $326,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Eastern by 6.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 138,918 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,171,000 after purchasing an additional 8,205 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastern Company Profile

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.