Eagle Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,030,284 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 11,387 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.89% of Eastman Chemical worth $115,340,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Eastman Chemical by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,734,190 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $306,093,000 after buying an additional 83,504 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Eastman Chemical by 9.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,280,699 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $223,435,000 after purchasing an additional 198,645 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 1.8% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,240,013 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $219,454,000 after buying an additional 40,070 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 0.6% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,220,463 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $119,569,000 after buying an additional 7,847 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 15.4% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 947,473 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $106,070,000 after buying an additional 126,301 shares during the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastman Chemical Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:EMN opened at $103.65 on Friday. Eastman Chemical has a 1-year low of $80.71 and a 1-year high of $114.50. The company’s fifty day moving average is $106.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.51. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $12.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.44.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Christopher Moore Killian sold 3,061 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $321,405.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,298,430. This trade represents a 19.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $107.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Bank of America lowered Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $114.00 to $119.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Eastman Chemical from $107.00 to $105.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.50.

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.