Van ECK Associates Corp Grows Stock Position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 25.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 61,251 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,461 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.05% of Eastman Chemical worth $5,593,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. James J. Burns & Company LLC purchased a new stake in Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter valued at $741,000. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,319,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 492.9% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 213,161 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $23,863,000 after purchasing an additional 177,207 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Eastman Chemical by 21.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 110,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,383,000 after buying an additional 19,809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 148,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $16,588,000 after buying an additional 9,447 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group cut their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Eastman Chemical from $121.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho increased their price target 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 decreased their price target on Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Citigroup lowered Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $118.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.08.

Insider Activity at Eastman Chemical

In related news, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total value of $471,623.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $466,013.52. This trade represents a 50.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,287 shares in the company, valued at $4,965,135. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

EMN opened at $103.48 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $94.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.12. Eastman Chemical has a fifty-two week low of $83.72 and a fifty-two week high of $114.50. The firm has a market cap of $11.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.44.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Eastman Chemical will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.23%.

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.