Vanguard Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,802,074 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 7,866 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.77% of Eastman Chemical worth $1,351,725,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 384.4% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 373 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in Eastman Chemical by 94.7% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on EMN shares. UBS Group decreased 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup lowered shares of Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $118.00 to $104.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays decreased their price objective on 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Eastman Chemical from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.08.

Eastman Chemical Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of EMN stock opened at $88.95 on Friday. Eastman Chemical has a fifty-two week low of $86.70 and a fifty-two week high of $114.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.24 billion, a PE ratio of 11.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.51. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.44.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 16.27%. Equities analysts expect that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is 43.23%.

Eastman Chemical 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.