Valley National Advisers Inc. Sells 1,123 Shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Valley National Advisers Inc. lessened its holdings in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 4.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,653 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,123 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $2,414,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. 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 valued at $1,332,904,000 after acquiring an additional 61,580 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 649.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,511,466 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $452,139,000 after acquiring an additional 3,909,740 shares during the period. Putnam Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 4,355,408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $391,203,000 after purchasing an additional 168,038 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 7.0% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 168,009 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 11.0% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,199,943 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $220,478,000 after purchasing an additional 217,720 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Eastman Chemical Trading Down 0.7 %

Eastman Chemical stock traded down $0.65 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $97.75. 639,290 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 982,839. 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 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.44.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The basic materials company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.14. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 13.94%. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.99 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Eastman Chemical will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is currently 41.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on EMN. Citigroup dropped their target price on Eastman Chemical from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $102.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $103.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $102.00 to $125.00 in a report on Monday, April 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $108.07.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 1,975 shares of Eastman Chemical stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.22, for a total transaction of $195,959.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.