WASHINGTON TRUST Co Increases Stock Holdings in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 426.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 495 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 401 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $44,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of EMN. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Eastman Chemical in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp raised its stake in Eastman Chemical by 435.0% during the 4th quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 428 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Finally, Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 134.0% in the 2nd quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 440 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Eastman Chemical

In other news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 4,735 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.75, for a total value of $415,496.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EMN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $91.00 to $89.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Eastman Chemical in a report on Thursday, February 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Eastman Chemical from $82.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.75.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

Eastman Chemical stock opened at $100.22 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.79 billion, a PE ratio of 13.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.52. Eastman Chemical has a 12-month low of $68.89 and a 12-month high of $100.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $87.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.21 billion. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is 43.26%.

Eastman Chemical 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.