Mather Group LLC. Purchases Shares of 1,251 Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,251 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $125,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. boosted its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 1.5% during the first quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. now owns 45,492 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,559,000 after acquiring an additional 689 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 8.4% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,378 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $439,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 7.2% during the first quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 22,014 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,206,000 after acquiring an additional 1,488 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter valued at about $214,000. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter valued at about $376,000. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $85.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $102.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $95.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $91.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eastman Chemical currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.50.

Insider Transactions at Eastman Chemical

In other news, CEO Mark J. Costa sold 102,390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.78, for a total transaction of $10,318,864.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 395,699 shares in the company, valued at $39,878,545.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 3,662 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total value of $370,814.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark J. Costa sold 102,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.78, for a total value of $10,318,864.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 395,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,878,545.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 108,027 shares of company stock worth $10,885,638. Insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EMN opened at $98.07 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $99.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.63. Eastman Chemical has a fifty-two week low of $68.89 and a fifty-two week high of $105.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

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

Eastman Chemical Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is presently 41.75%.

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.