Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Shares Sold by Strengthening Families & Communities LLC

Strengthening Families & Communities LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 92.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,507 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 30,145 shares during the quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,683 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. boosted its position in Eastman Chemical by 3.3% during the third quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 3,434 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. RKL Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 0.9% during the third quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust grew its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 2.0% during the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,645 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $744,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

Shares of Eastman Chemical stock opened at $99.04 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $11.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.16. Eastman Chemical has a twelve month low of $81.00 and a twelve month high of $114.50. 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 (NYSE:EMN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.27. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 16.40% and a net margin of 9.65%. As a group, research analysts expect that Eastman Chemical will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on EMN shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $115.00 to $109.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Eastman Chemical from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Eastman Chemical from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $105.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.54.

Insider Transactions at Eastman Chemical

In other news, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the business’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 value of $471,623.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $466,013.52. The trade was a 50.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,965,135. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.93% of the stock is owned by 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.