Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Takes $2.79 Million Position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 30,589 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,793,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Delphi Management Inc. MA lifted its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 44.3% in the 4th quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA now owns 5,696 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,750 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Eastman Chemical by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,493 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp grew its stake in Eastman Chemical by 294.8% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 62,841 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,739,000 after purchasing an additional 46,923 shares during the last quarter. one8zero8 LLC purchased a new position in Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter valued at about $237,000. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its stake in Eastman Chemical by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 2,457 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

Shares of EMN stock opened at $91.39 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $95.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.86. Eastman Chemical has a 12 month low of $86.70 and a 12 month high of $114.50. The company has a market capitalization of $10.53 billion, a PE ratio of 11.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.43.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last announced its earnings results 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 9.65% and a return on equity of 16.27%. Analysts predict that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on EMN shares. Citigroup lowered Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $118.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Eastman Chemical from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. KeyCorp increased their price target on Eastman Chemical from $121.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Eastman Chemical from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $115.00 to $109.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eastman Chemical has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.08.

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.