Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Increases Stake in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,140 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 777 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $1,383,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in Eastman Chemical by 492.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 213,161 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $23,863,000 after acquiring an additional 177,207 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 21.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 110,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,383,000 after purchasing an additional 19,809 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 6.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 148,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $16,588,000 after purchasing an additional 9,447 shares during the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its position in Eastman Chemical by 21.0% during the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 46,288 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,535,000 after buying an additional 8,035 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Eastman Chemical during the third quarter worth $632,000. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EMN. StockNews.com downgraded Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup lowered shares of Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $118.00 to $104.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $105.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.92.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

EMN opened at $91.96 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $96.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.29. Eastman Chemical has a 12-month low of $80.71 and a 12-month high of $114.50. The firm has a market cap of $10.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.38 billion. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 15.37%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.47 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Eastman Chemical will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.83 dividend. This is an increase from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is 44.44%.

Insider Transactions at Eastman Chemical

In other news, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of Eastman Chemical 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,965,135. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 stock was sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total transaction of $471,623.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,403 shares in the company, valued at $466,013.52. The trade was a 50.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,021 shares of company stock valued at $1,895,948. 1.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.