Econ Financial Services Corp Takes $1.53 Million Position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Econ Financial Services Corp acquired a new position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 16,705 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,526,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Eastman Chemical by 1,104.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 933,984 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $104,560,000 after acquiring an additional 856,432 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Eastman Chemical by 57.2% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 935,732 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $104,755,000 after buying an additional 340,562 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Eastman Chemical by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,219,438 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $593,233,000 after buying an additional 282,458 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 492.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 213,161 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $23,863,000 after acquiring an additional 177,207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 443.1% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 158,253 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $17,716,000 after purchasing an additional 129,112 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.65% of the company's stock.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EMN traded down $2.06 on Friday, hitting $99.20. 915,512 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,167,509. Eastman Chemical has a one year low of $81.00 and a one year high of $114.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.52. The company's 50 day moving average price is $94.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.92, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.44.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.87 earnings per share (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%. Research analysts expect that Eastman Chemical will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Eastman Chemical's previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Eastman Chemical's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastman Chemical

In related news, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total value 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. This represents a 50.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of Eastman Chemical stock in a transaction dated 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 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. Insiders own 1.93% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EMN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup downgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $118.00 to $104.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America raised Eastman Chemical from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $115.00 to $109.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Mizuho boosted their target price 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, KeyCorp raised their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $121.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Eastman Chemical presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $113.54.

Eastman Chemical Company Profile

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.