Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Acquires 144 Shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 30.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $60,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,839,723 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,332,904,000 after purchasing an additional 61,580 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 649.8% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,511,466 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $452,139,000 after purchasing an additional 3,909,740 shares in the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC boosted its stake in Eastman Chemical by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 4,355,408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $391,203,000 after acquiring an additional 168,038 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Eastman Chemical by 9.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,280,699 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $223,435,000 after acquiring an additional 198,645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in Eastman Chemical by 11.0% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,199,943 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $220,478,000 after acquiring an additional 217,720 shares in the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Eastman Chemical Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:EMN opened at $112.35 on Friday. Eastman Chemical has a 52-week low of $68.89 and a 52-week high of $114.50. The stock has a market cap of $13.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $100.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.13.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The basic materials company reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 13.94% and a net margin of 9.65%. Eastman Chemical’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.99 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Eastman Chemical will post 7.66 EPS for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on EMN shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $103.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $102.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $108.07.

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.