New York State Common Retirement Fund Decreases Stock Position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its stake in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 185,934 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,514 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.16% of Eastman Chemical worth $16,979,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 94.7% in the third 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 period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 916 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 924 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $125.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays reduced their price target on Eastman Chemical from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Eastman Chemical from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Eastman Chemical presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.08.

Insider Transactions at Eastman Chemical

In other news, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,965,135. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,403 shares in the company, valued at $466,013.52. This trade represents a 50.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

Eastman Chemical stock opened at $98.63 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $100.24. 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 has a market cap of $11.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.84, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.44. Eastman Chemical has a fifty-two week low of $85.28 and a fifty-two week high of $114.50.

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

Eastman Chemical Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. 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.