State of Michigan Retirement System Sells 300 Shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

State of Michigan Retirement System cut its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,968 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $3,404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Iams Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Eastman Chemical by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Iams Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,308 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $732,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 17.4% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,886 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $991,000 after acquiring an additional 1,462 shares during the last quarter. Stewart & Patten Co. LLC increased its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Stewart & Patten Co. LLC now owns 185,323 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $18,573,000 after acquiring an additional 6,769 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Eastman Chemical in the 1st quarter worth $276,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 1st quarter valued at about $219,000. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastman Chemical Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of EMN stock opened at $95.38 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $99.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.40. Eastman Chemical has a 1-year low of $68.89 and a 1-year high of $105.98. The company has a market cap of $11.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 10.16%. The company’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Eastman Chemical will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastman Chemical

In other Eastman Chemical news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 1,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.22, for a total value of $195,959.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Mark J. Costa sold 102,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.78, for a total transaction of $10,318,864.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 395,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,878,545.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 1,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.22, for a total transaction of $195,959.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 108,027 shares of company stock worth $10,885,638. Company insiders own 2.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EMN has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $85.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. UBS Group upgraded Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $128.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $102.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.31.

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.