Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Decreases Position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,103 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 299 shares during the quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $283,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. James J. Burns & Company LLC purchased a new position in Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter worth $741,000. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter worth $3,319,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in Eastman Chemical by 492.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 213,161 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $23,863,000 after purchasing an additional 177,207 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management raised its position in Eastman Chemical by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 44,675 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,081,000 after purchasing an additional 5,700 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Eastman Chemical by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,219,438 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $593,233,000 after purchasing an additional 282,458 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EMN opened at $88.55 on Friday. Eastman Chemical has a 1 year low of $86.70 and a 1 year high of $114.50. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $95.92 and its 200 day moving average is $99.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.43.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.87 EPS 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is currently 43.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $115.00 to $109.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $121.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.08.

About Eastman Chemical

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.