Eukles Asset Management Has $2.61 Million Position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Eukles Asset Management lessened its stake in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,578 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,278 shares during the quarter. Eukles Asset Management’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $2,610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EMN. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 238.1% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 284 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in Eastman Chemical by 94.7% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Eastman Chemical by 784.4% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 681 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

Eastman Chemical stock opened at $99.20 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.14. Eastman Chemical has a one year low of $81.00 and a one year high of $114.50. The company has a market capitalization of $11.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 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 earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.27. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 16.40%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total transaction of $471,623.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $466,013.52. This represents a 50.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $1,102,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,965,135. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler decreased their price target 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 18th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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.