LSV Asset Management Sells 133,470 Shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

LSV Asset Management decreased its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Free Report) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,312,142 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 133,470 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned 1.13% of Eastman Chemical worth $119,825,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,785,259 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $528,310,000 after purchasing an additional 565,821 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,844,165 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $259,729,000 after purchasing an additional 284,271 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Eastman Chemical by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,843,506 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $259,669,000 after purchasing an additional 109,316 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,832,593 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $257,986,000 after acquiring an additional 48,491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter valued at $150,537,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.65% of the company's stock.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EMN traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $77.52. 205,951 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,012,337. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market cap of $8.93 billion, a PE ratio of 10.09, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.38. Eastman Chemical has a 12 month low of $70.90 and a 12 month high of $114.50. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $91.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.76.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.27. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 16.27% and a net margin of 9.65%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.28%. Eastman Chemical's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $115.00 to $109.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Eastman Chemical from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, January 18th. Mizuho upgraded Eastman Chemical from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Eastman Chemical from $128.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Eastman Chemical from $125.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eastman Chemical has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.08.

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.