Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 10.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,785,259 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 565,821 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $528,310,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 62.3% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 323 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in Eastman Chemical by 94.7% during 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. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 384.4% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 373 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EMN has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 18th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Eastman Chemical from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group cut their target price on Eastman Chemical from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup cut Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $118.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.08.

Eastman Chemical Stock Up 1.3 %

EMN stock opened at $88.14 on Tuesday. Eastman Chemical has a 1-year low of $85.84 and a 1-year high of $114.50. The stock has a market cap of $10.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company’s 50 day moving average is $95.56 and its 200 day moving average is $99.29.

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

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is currently 43.23%.

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.