Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Purchases Shares of 30,589 Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 30,589 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,793,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EMN. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Eastman Chemical by 443.1% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 158,253 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,716,000 after purchasing an additional 129,112 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Eastman Chemical by 6.8% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 19,998 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,239,000 after buying an additional 1,270 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Eastman Chemical by 41.4% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,967 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,564,000 after buying an additional 4,092 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in Eastman Chemical by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 349,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $39,082,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Eastman Chemical during the third quarter valued at $154,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on EMN shares. Citigroup lowered Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $118.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Eastman Chemical from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group cut their target price on Eastman Chemical from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Eastman Chemical from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eastman Chemical presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.08.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EMN opened at $91.39 on Thursday. Eastman Chemical has a 52 week low of $86.70 and a 52 week high of $114.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.90, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

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

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.23%.

Eastman Chemical Company 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.