Meritage Portfolio Management Cuts Stock Position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Meritage Portfolio Management trimmed its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 47,652 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,589 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $4,352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EMN. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 238.1% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 284 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in 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 acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 784.4% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 681 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

Shares of Eastman Chemical stock opened at $101.85 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The business has a 50-day moving average of $94.63 and a 200 day moving average of $100.07. Eastman Chemical has a 12 month low of $80.89 and a 12 month high of $114.50.

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, 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 16.40%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 8.46 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. This is a positive change from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on EMN shares. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Eastman Chemical from $121.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 18th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.64.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $1,102,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,965,135. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total value of $471,623.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $466,013.52. This represents a 50.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.28% of the company’s stock.

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.