Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Shares Purchased by BTC Capital Management Inc.

BTC Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 18.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 15,815 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,464 shares during the period. BTC Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $1,444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 94.7% in the 3rd 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 period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 52.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 537 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $466,013.52. This represents a 50.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,965,135. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,021 shares of company stock worth $1,895,948. 1.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on EMN. StockNews.com upgraded Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 18th. Bank of America raised Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $115.00 to $109.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Mizuho boosted their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Eastman Chemical in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Eastman Chemical currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.92.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

NYSE:EMN opened at $92.62 on Friday. Eastman Chemical has a 1-year low of $80.71 and a 1-year high of $114.50. The firm has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $94.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.01.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.27. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 9.47%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Eastman Chemical will post 7.6 EPS for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The business 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. This is an increase from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

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.