Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 323,499 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 9,675 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $29,542,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its position in Eastman Chemical by 238.1% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 284 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 784.4% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 681 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eastman Chemical Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of EMN opened at $100.69 on Wednesday. Eastman Chemical has a 52 week low of $81.00 and a 52 week high of $114.50. The firm has a market cap of $11.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.16. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.87 EPS 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 16.40%. On average, analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. This is an increase from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is currently 43.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. KeyCorp upped their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $105.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $113.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastman Chemical

In other Eastman Chemical news, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total value of $471,623.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $1,102,920.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

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.