Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Grows Stake in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 115.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,850 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,272 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $3,350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EMN. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 94.7% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 168.6% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 744 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 916 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $466,013.52. This trade represents a 50.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were 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 directly owns 47,287 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Company insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EMN. KeyCorp upped their target price on Eastman Chemical from $121.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Mizuho upped their target price on Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Eastman Chemical from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Eastman Chemical from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.08.

Eastman Chemical Stock Down 0.7 %

Eastman Chemical stock opened at $100.58 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.10, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $94.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.18. Eastman Chemical has a twelve month low of $83.83 and a twelve month high of $114.50. 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 earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts expect that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.23%.

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.