South Dakota Investment Council Cuts Stock Position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

South Dakota Investment Council cut its holdings in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 75,438 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 854 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $6,889,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in Eastman Chemical by 94.7% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Eastman Chemical by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 916 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its position in Eastman Chemical by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 924 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

EMN opened at $98.63 on Friday. Eastman Chemical has a 1 year low of $85.28 and a 1 year high of $114.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.36 billion, a PE ratio of 12.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.44. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $94.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.24.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is 43.23%.

Insider Transactions at Eastman Chemical

In related news, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of Eastman Chemical stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total transaction of $471,623.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $466,013.52. The trade was a 50.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,965,135. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lowered their price target 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. Citigroup downgraded Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $118.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays decreased their target price on Eastman Chemical from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Eastman Chemical from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Eastman Chemical currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.08.

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.