Venturi Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 1,610.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,438 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,237 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $314,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of EMN. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 168.6% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 744 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 916 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $1,102,920.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

Shares of EMN opened at $100.58 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $94.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.18. The company has a market cap of $11.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Eastman Chemical has a twelve month low of $83.83 and a twelve month high of $114.50.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last announced 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 16.40% and a net margin of 9.65%. As a group, analysts predict that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is currently 43.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EMN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup lowered Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $118.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $125.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.08.

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.