Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Shares Sold by State of Michigan Retirement System

State of Michigan Retirement System reduced its position in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,968 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $3,404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EMN. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $121,847,000. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $54,047,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 274.5% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 249,104 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $22,375,000 after acquiring an additional 391,848 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 752,849 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $67,623,000 after purchasing an additional 177,593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC boosted its position in Eastman Chemical by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 4,355,408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $391,203,000 after purchasing an additional 168,038 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastman Chemical

In other news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 3,662 shares of the 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Eastman Chemical news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 3,662 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total value of $370,814.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark J. Costa sold 102,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.78, for a total transaction of $10,318,864.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 395,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,878,545.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 108,027 shares of company stock valued at $10,885,638 over the last three months. 2.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Eastman Chemical from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group raised Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $128.00 in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.31.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

EMN stock opened at $95.38 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $99.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.40. The company has a market cap of $11.22 billion, a PE ratio of 12.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Eastman Chemical has a 12-month low of $68.89 and a 12-month high of $105.98.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.20. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 10.16% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The firm had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. Eastman Chemical’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Eastman Chemical will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.75%.

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.