SG Americas Securities LLC Trims Stake in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

SG Americas Securities LLC cut its stake in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 86.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,125 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 19,514 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of EMN. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Eastman Chemical by 1.5% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 48,391 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,741,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,045,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in Eastman Chemical by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 29,900 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,347,000 after acquiring an additional 6,300 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Eastman Chemical by 6.2% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 23,813 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,666,000 after acquiring an additional 1,394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 19.7% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,021 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares during the period. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,965,135. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the business’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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 2.28% of the company’s stock.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

NYSE EMN opened at $101.85 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Eastman Chemical has a 1-year low of $81.00 and a 1-year high of $114.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.44. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $94.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.08.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last posted its 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 return on equity of 16.40% and a net margin of 9.65%. On average, equities analysts predict that Eastman Chemical will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is a boost from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on EMN shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Eastman Chemical from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho boosted their target price on Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 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. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $118.00 to $104.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.54.

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.