Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp Has $1.25 Million Stake in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 12.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,159 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,620 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $1,249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Eastman Chemical during the 3rd quarter worth $656,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 21.5% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 26,008 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,746,000 after purchasing an additional 4,606 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group acquired a new position in Eastman Chemical in the third quarter valued at about $202,000. Fortem Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the third quarter worth about $462,000. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,595 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on EMN. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $114.00 to $119.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eastman Chemical currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.46.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

EMN stock opened at $98.50 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.19, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $104.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.52. Eastman Chemical has a 52-week low of $80.71 and a 52-week high of $114.50.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 9.47%. Eastman Chemical’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.47 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Eastman Chemical will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastman Chemical

In related news, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total transaction of $471,623.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $466,013.52. This trade represents a 50.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the business’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 value of $1,102,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,965,135. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,021 shares of company stock valued at $1,895,948. 1.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Eastman Chemical

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.