Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Free Report) by 50.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 59,646 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 20,056 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.05% of Eastman Chemical worth $6,677,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EMN. Diversified Trust Co grew its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 3,290 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 759 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Eastman Chemical by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,988 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,664,000 after buying an additional 1,289 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 981.6% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 77,552 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $7,598,000 after buying an additional 70,382 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 21.2% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,076 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 712 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tyche Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $399,000. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastman Chemical

In other news, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total transaction of $471,623.04. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $1,102,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,287 shares in the company, valued at $4,965,135. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 18,021 shares of company stock worth $1,895,948. Corporate insiders own 1.93% of the company's stock.

Eastman Chemical Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Eastman Chemical stock traded down $1.24 on Friday, reaching $98.50. 1,430,816 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 968,958. The firm's 50-day moving average is $104.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.77. The company has a market capitalization of $11.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.42. 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 52 week low of $80.71 and a 52 week high of $114.50.

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

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. This is an increase from Eastman Chemical's previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Eastman Chemical's dividend payout ratio is 43.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on EMN. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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 report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Eastman Chemical in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $114.00 to $119.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $112.86.

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.