Prudential Financial Inc. Purchases 22,722 Shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 26.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 109,873 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 22,722 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $10,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 62.3% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 323 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 384.4% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 373 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 94.7% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

Shares of EMN stock opened at $87.09 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $99.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Eastman Chemical has a one year low of $86.50 and a one year high of $114.50. The company has a market capitalization of $10.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.43.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.27. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 16.27% and a net margin of 9.65%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 EPS for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is 43.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Eastman Chemical from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $121.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $115.00 to $109.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.08.

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.