State of Michigan Retirement System Grows Stock Holdings in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

State of Michigan Retirement System grew its holdings in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,568 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $3,387,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new position in Eastman Chemical in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Eastman Chemical during the second quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

Shares of EMN stock opened at $100.62 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Eastman Chemical has a twelve month low of $68.89 and a twelve month high of $105.98. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.50.

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

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on EMN shares. Barclays increased their target price on Eastman Chemical from $103.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group upgraded Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $128.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Citigroup dropped their target price on Eastman Chemical from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Eastman Chemical from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Eastman Chemical presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $108.07.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 1,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.22, for a total value of $195,959.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

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.