Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Shares Bought by Erste Asset Management GmbH

Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $5,394,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in Eastman Chemical by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 837 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,505 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $503,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 9,268 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $846,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 3,878 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

Shares of Eastman Chemical stock opened at $91.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.85, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.43. Eastman Chemical has a 12 month low of $86.70 and a 12 month high of $114.50. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.14.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.27. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 16.27% and a net margin of 9.65%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Eastman Chemical from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho raised their target price on Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Eastman Chemical from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $125.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $121.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.08.

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.