New York State Common Retirement Fund Cuts Stock Holdings in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 218,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 11,158 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.18% of Eastman Chemical worth $19,630,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Eastman Chemical during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 213.8% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical in the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. 83.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastman Chemical Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of EMN opened at $95.56 on Friday. Eastman Chemical has a 1-year low of $68.89 and a 1-year high of $102.71. The company has a 50-day moving average of $93.98 and a 200 day moving average of $86.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 10.16% and a return on equity of 13.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Eastman Chemical will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EMN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $102.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 5th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $91.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastman Chemical

In other Eastman Chemical news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 4,735 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.75, for a total transaction of $415,496.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

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.