IFG Advisory LLC Sells 20,670 Shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

IFG Advisory LLC decreased its stake in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 54.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,160 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 20,670 shares during the quarter. IFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $1,541,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical in the third quarter worth $26,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 213.8% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Eastman Chemical

In related news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 4,735 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.75, for a total transaction of $415,496.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $102.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Eastman Chemical from $91.00 to $89.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $82.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Eastman Chemical from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eastman Chemical has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.75.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EMN opened at $99.58 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.71 billion, a PE ratio of 13.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Eastman Chemical has a twelve month low of $68.89 and a twelve month high of $100.37. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.09.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.03. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 9.71%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is currently 43.26%.

Eastman Chemical Company 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.