Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 282,458 Shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Free Report) by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,219,438 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 282,458 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 4.50% of Eastman Chemical worth $593,233,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 1,104.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 856,432 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 617,889 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $104,755,000 after acquiring an additional 340,562 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 34.5% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 852,551 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $83,524,000 after acquiring an additional 218,531 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 9.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,280,699 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $223,435,000 after purchasing an additional 198,645 shares during the period. 83.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho boosted their price target on Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased 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. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $110.00 to $125.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $112.86.

Eastman Chemical Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:EMN traded down $1.24 on Friday, hitting $98.50. 1,430,816 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 968,958. The company has a market cap of $11.42 billion, a PE ratio of 13.19, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.76. Eastman Chemical has a 52 week low of $80.71 and a 52 week high of $114.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 15.37%. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.47 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Eastman Chemical will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,965,135. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher Moore Killian sold 3,061 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $321,405.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,298,430. This represents a 19.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,021 shares of company stock worth $1,895,948. 1.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.