Blue Trust Inc. Purchases 519 Shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,908 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 519 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 238.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 284 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 94.7% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 52.6% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 537 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 784.4% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 681 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on EMN shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $115.00 to $109.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.92.

Eastman Chemical Stock Down 0.1 %

Eastman Chemical stock opened at $92.62 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $94.92 and a 200 day moving average of $100.01. Eastman Chemical has a one year low of $80.71 and a one year high of $114.50.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.27. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 15.37%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Eastman Chemical will post 7.6 EPS for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. This is a positive change from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is 44.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eastman Chemical news, SVP Christopher Moore Killian sold 3,061 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $321,405.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,298,430. This trade represents a 19.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total transaction of $471,623.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $466,013.52. The trade was a 50.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 18,021 shares of company stock valued at $1,895,948. 1.93% of the stock is owned by company 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.