Vaughan David Investments LLC IL Sells 583 Shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Vaughan David Investments LLC IL lessened its position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,329 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 583 shares during the period. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $487,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. James J. Burns & Company LLC bought a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter worth about $741,000. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,319,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 492.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 213,161 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $23,863,000 after buying an additional 177,207 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted 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 acquiring an additional 19,809 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $16,588,000 after acquiring an additional 9,447 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 18th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut 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. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.08.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

Eastman Chemical stock opened at $98.88 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $11.39 billion, a PE ratio of 12.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.44. Eastman Chemical has a one year low of $85.28 and a one year high of $114.50.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 16.27% and a net margin of 9.65%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio 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.