Versant Capital Management Inc Grows Stock Holdings in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 32.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 916 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $84,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EMN. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 238.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 284 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in Eastman Chemical by 94.7% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Eastman Chemical in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in Eastman Chemical by 30.9% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings 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 worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Eastman Chemical Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Eastman Chemical stock opened at $88.67 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $10.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.87, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $99.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.52. Eastman Chemical has a one year low of $80.71 and a one year high of $114.50.

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

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. This is an increase from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eastman Chemical news, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total transaction of $471,623.04. Following 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 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 the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,298,430. This represents a 19.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,021 shares of company stock worth $1,895,948. Corporate insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America downgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $114.00 to $119.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $110.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on 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, StockNews.com lowered Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.92.

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.