Minerva Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in The Eastern Company (NASDAQ:EML)

Minerva Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in The Eastern Company (NASDAQ:EML) by 0.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 497,210 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,814 shares during the period. Eastern accounts for about 9.2% of Minerva Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Minerva Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Eastern worth $15,931,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Eastern in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,190,000. American Century Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in Eastern in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $632,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Eastern by 37.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 52,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,331,000 after buying an additional 14,373 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Eastern by 72.7% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 28,388 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $921,000 after buying an additional 11,952 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Eastern by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 386,281 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,838,000 after buying an additional 8,835 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised Eastern from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd.

Eastern Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EML opened at $27.50 on Tuesday. The Eastern Company has a 1-year low of $18.00 and a 1-year high of $35.78. The business’s 50 day moving average is $31.18 and its 200-day moving average is $29.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.64 and a quick ratio of 1.42.

Eastern Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Eastern’s payout ratio is presently -42.72%.

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.