CENTRAL TRUST Co Acquires 200 Shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 27.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 924 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $84,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Eastman Chemical by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 3.8% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,683 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 3,434 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $384,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,520,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust grew its position in Eastman Chemical by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,645 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $744,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Eastman Chemical Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Eastman Chemical stock opened at $101.85 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $94.59 and its 200 day moving average is $100.08. Eastman Chemical has a one year low of $81.00 and a one year high of $114.50. The firm has a market cap of $11.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.27. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 16.40%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Eastman Chemical will post 8.46 EPS for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. This is a positive change from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total transaction of $471,623.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,403 shares in the company, valued at $466,013.52. The trade was a 50.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $1,102,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,965,135. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EMN has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $105.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $125.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Eastman Chemical currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.54.

About Eastman Chemical

Eastman Chemical Company operates as a specialty materials company in the United States, China, and internationally. The company's Additives & Functional Products segment offers amine derivative-based building blocks, intermediates for surfactants, metam-based soil fumigants, and organic acid-based solutions; specialty coalescent and solvents, paint additives, and specialty polymers; and heat transfer and aviation fluids.