Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Decreases Stock Position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 61.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 41,314 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 67,188 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $3,773,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EMN. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Eastman Chemical by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 3.8% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,683 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. grew its position in Eastman Chemical by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 3,434 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. RKL Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,520,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,645 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $744,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on EMN shares. Citigroup cut Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $118.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed 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 price target on Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $110.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $115.00 to $109.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.92.

Insider Transactions at Eastman Chemical

In related news, SVP Christopher Moore Killian sold 3,061 shares of Eastman Chemical stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,366 shares in the company, valued at $1,298,430. This trade represents a 19.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of Eastman Chemical 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $466,013.52. The trade was a 50.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 18,021 shares of company stock worth $1,895,948. Company insiders own 2.28% of the company’s stock.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

Shares of Eastman Chemical stock opened at $93.22 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Eastman Chemical has a 52 week low of $80.71 and a 52 week high of $114.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $96.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.21.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.38 billion. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 9.47%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.47 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 7.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. This is a boost from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

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.