Verition Fund Management LLC Buys 86,330 Shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Verition Fund Management LLC raised its position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Free Report) by 76.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 198,811 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 86,330 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC owned approximately 0.17% of Eastman Chemical worth $22,257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EMN. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 1,104.3% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 933,984 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $104,560,000 after acquiring an additional 856,432 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 201.5% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 924,490 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $90,572,000 after purchasing an additional 617,889 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 318.2% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 701,947 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $69,516,000 after buying an additional 534,081 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Eastman Chemical by 57.2% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 935,732 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $104,755,000 after buying an additional 340,562 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 34.5% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 852,551 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $83,524,000 after buying an additional 218,531 shares during the period. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on EMN shares. StockNews.com downgraded Eastman Chemical from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Bank of America downgraded Eastman Chemical from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $114.00 to $119.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Eastman Chemical in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Eastman Chemical from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eastman Chemical currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.86.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Christopher Moore Killian sold 3,061 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $321,405.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,298,430. This represents a 19.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $1,102,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,287 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,965,135. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,021 shares of company stock valued at $1,895,948 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.93% of the company's stock.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EMN traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $104.72. 498,661 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 956,347. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.52. Eastman Chemical has a one year low of $80.71 and a one year high of $114.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.02, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $106.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $101.71.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.12. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 9.47%. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.47 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Company 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.