Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Shares Sold by Axxcess Wealth Management LLC

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 198 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $1,332,904,000 after acquiring an additional 61,580 shares in the last quarter. Putnam Investments LLC lifted its position in Eastman Chemical by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 4,355,408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $391,203,000 after acquiring an additional 168,038 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Eastman Chemical by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,575,783 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $231,357,000 after acquiring an additional 168,009 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter worth approximately $121,847,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 18.1% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,120,604 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $112,307,000 after purchasing an additional 171,945 shares during the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 1,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.22, for a total transaction of $195,959.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 1,975 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.22, for a total transaction of $195,959.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark J. Costa sold 102,390 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.78, for a total value of $10,318,864.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 395,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,878,545.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 108,027 shares of company stock worth $10,885,638 over the last 90 days. 1.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

EMN traded up $3.59 during trading on Friday, reaching $100.73. 1,475,991 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 733,948. The stock has a market cap of $11.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.98, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.46. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $98.85 and a 200 day moving average of $94.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Eastman Chemical has a 52 week low of $68.89 and a 52 week high of $105.98.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The basic materials company reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.14. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 14.06% and a net margin of 9.65%. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.99 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 7.69 EPS 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 issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $102.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $85.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $101.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.63.

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.