Clearbridge Investments LLC Has $112.31 Million Stake in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 18.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,120,604 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 171,945 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.95% of Eastman Chemical worth $112,307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,839,723 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,332,904,000 after purchasing an additional 61,580 shares in the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 4,355,408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $391,203,000 after buying an additional 168,038 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,575,783 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $231,357,000 after buying an additional 168,009 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter valued at $121,847,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,108,687 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $99,582,000 after buying an additional 29,557 shares during the period. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Eastman Chemical

In other news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 3,662 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total transaction of $370,814.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Mark J. Costa sold 102,390 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.78, for a total transaction of $10,318,864.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 395,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,878,545.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 3,662 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total value of $370,814.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 108,027 shares of company stock valued at $10,885,638 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Eastman Chemical Trading Down 1.1 %

EMN stock traded down $1.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $96.38. 822,764 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 977,178. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $98.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.39. The company has a market cap of $11.34 billion, a PE ratio of 12.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.46. Eastman Chemical has a one year low of $68.89 and a one year high of $105.98.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 10.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Eastman Chemical will post 7.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on EMN. Citigroup lowered their target price on Eastman Chemical from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Eastman Chemical from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Eastman Chemical from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $102.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Eastman Chemical has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.31.

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.