Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Sells 1,305 Shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,465 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,305 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned about 0.05% of Eastman Chemical worth $5,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in Eastman Chemical by 213.8% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Advantage Trust Co bought a new position in Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its position in Eastman Chemical by 426.6% in the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 495 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastman Chemical

In other Eastman Chemical news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 3,662 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total value of $370,814.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Mark J. Costa sold 102,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.78, for a total transaction of $10,318,864.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 395,699 shares in the company, valued at $39,878,545.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 3,662 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total transaction of $370,814.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 108,027 shares of company stock worth $10,885,638. 1.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EMN traded down $3.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $99.51. 746,452 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 791,101. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.71 billion, a PE ratio of 12.82, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.51. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $99.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.21. Eastman Chemical has a 52 week low of $68.89 and a 52 week high of $105.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 10.16% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is 41.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on EMN shares. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $91.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $101.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.50.

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.