Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Shares Acquired by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 105,524 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,331 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.09% of Eastman Chemical worth $10,338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EMN. Cultivar Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the second quarter worth $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the first quarter worth $34,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the first quarter worth $38,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the second quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the second quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on EMN. Citigroup lowered their price target on Eastman Chemical from $114.00 to $111.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Eastman Chemical from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com upgraded Eastman Chemical from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $103.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $108.07.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

Shares of EMN stock traded up $1.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $109.00. 759,222 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 956,428. The company has a market cap of $12.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.44. The company's 50 day moving average is $101.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.63. Eastman Chemical has a 1 year low of $68.89 and a 1 year high of $114.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The basic materials company reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 13.94% and a net margin of 9.65%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.99 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Eastman Chemical will post 7.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Eastman Chemical's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.75%.

About Eastman Chemical

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.