Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Shares Sold by Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 87,299 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,158 shares during the period. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $7,977,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EMN. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 62.3% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 323 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 384.4% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 373 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 94.7% during the 3rd 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. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on EMN shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Eastman Chemical from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. 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 research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup cut Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $118.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.08.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

Eastman Chemical stock opened at $89.33 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.58. Eastman Chemical has a 12 month low of $86.70 and a 12 month high of $114.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a PE ratio of 11.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.43.

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

Eastman Chemical Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.23%.

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.