Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Lowers Stock Position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky trimmed its holdings in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Free Report) by 32.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 133,997 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 63,495 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned 0.11% of Eastman Chemical worth $12,036,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Eastman Chemical during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 213.8% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 408 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Advantage Trust Co bought a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 426.6% in the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 495 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.65% of the company's stock.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

NYSE:EMN traded down $3.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $99.51. The company had a trading volume of 746,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 791,101. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $99.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.35. Eastman Chemical has a one year low of $68.89 and a one year high of $105.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.71 billion, a PE ratio of 12.82, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.51.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 10.16% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. Analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. Eastman Chemical's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.75%.

Insider Activity at Eastman Chemical

In other Eastman Chemical news, CEO Mark J. Costa sold 102,390 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.78, for a total value of $10,318,864.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 395,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,878,545.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Eastman Chemical news, CEO Mark J. Costa sold 102,390 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.78, for a total transaction of $10,318,864.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 395,699 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $39,878,545.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 1,975 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.22, for a total transaction of $195,959.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 108,027 shares of company stock valued at $10,885,638 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.93% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America decreased their target price on Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. StockNews.com raised Eastman Chemical from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. UBS Group raised shares of Eastman Chemical from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $106.00 to $128.00 in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $91.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $107.50.

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.