Russell Investments Group Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its holdings in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 139,590 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 18,894 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $12,539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Eastman Chemical in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 213.8% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 426.6% in the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 495 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the period. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

EMN opened at $97.50 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $95.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.26. The company has a market cap of $11.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Eastman Chemical has a 52-week low of $68.89 and a 52-week high of $102.71.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 10.16% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Eastman Chemical will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is 41.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on EMN. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Eastman Chemical in a report on Thursday, February 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $102.00 to $125.00 in a report on Monday, April 29th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Eastman Chemical from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 4,735 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.75, for a total value of $415,496.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

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.