Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 51,166 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,926 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $4,672,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter valued at about $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 valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 384.4% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 373 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC boosted 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 valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on EMN. StockNews.com upgraded Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 18th. UBS Group decreased their price objective 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. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $121.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.08.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

Shares of EMN stock opened at $88.35 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $95.36 and its 200 day moving average is $99.11. Eastman Chemical has a 1-year low of $85.84 and a 1-year high of $114.50. 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 company has a market cap of $10.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.43.

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

Eastman Chemical Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.76%. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.