Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $16.59 Million Stock Position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 6.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 148,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,447 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.13% of Eastman Chemical worth $16,588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its position in Eastman Chemical by 238.1% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 284 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in Eastman Chemical by 94.7% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the third quarter valued at $38,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the second quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in Eastman Chemical by 52.6% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 537 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Eastman Chemical Trading Up 0.3 %

Eastman Chemical stock opened at $91.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.52. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $101.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.63 billion, a PE ratio of 12.28, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.42. Eastman Chemical has a 52 week low of $80.71 and a 52 week high of $114.50.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.12. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 9.47%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.47 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. This is a positive change from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Eastman Chemical in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $113.92.

Insider Activity at Eastman Chemical

In other Eastman Chemical news, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of Eastman Chemical stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction 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 approximately $4,965,135. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Christopher Moore Killian sold 3,061 shares of Eastman Chemical stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $321,405.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,366 shares in the company, valued at $1,298,430. The trade was a 19.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,021 shares of company stock worth $1,895,948 over the last three months. Company 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.