KBC Group NV Reduces Stake in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

KBC Group NV cut its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 57.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 47,571 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 63,039 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $4,344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 238.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 284 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 52.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 537 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 784.4% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 681 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the period. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on EMN shares. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Eastman Chemical from $105.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $125.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eastman Chemical presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.92.

Insider Activity at Eastman Chemical

In other news, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total transaction of $471,623.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,403 shares in the company, valued at $466,013.52. This represents a 50.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $1,102,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,965,135. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,021 shares of company stock valued at $1,895,948 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

Shares of EMN opened at $92.62 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $94.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.01. Eastman Chemical has a fifty-two week low of $80.71 and a fifty-two week high of $114.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.40, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.44.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.27. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 9.47%. Equities analysts predict that Eastman Chemical will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. This is an increase from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

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.