Quadrature Capital Ltd Sells 9,669 Shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Quadrature Capital Ltd lowered its stake in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Free Report) by 50.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,393 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 9,669 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd's holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $1,051,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Eastman Chemical by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,343 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in Eastman Chemical by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,683 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 3,434 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 4.8% in the second quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 2,662 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RKL Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 0.9% during the third quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,576 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,520,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.65% of the company's stock.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EMN traded down $0.44 on Friday, hitting $101.07. 1,309,228 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 999,933. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.52. The company's 50 day moving average price is $105.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.78. Eastman Chemical has a one year low of $80.71 and a one year high of $114.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.53, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.42.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 9.47%. Eastman Chemical's revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.47 earnings per share. 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is a boost from Eastman Chemical's previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. Eastman Chemical's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.44%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher Moore Killian sold 3,061 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $321,405.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,366 shares in the company, valued at $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 have sold 18,021 shares of company stock worth $1,895,948. Company insiders own 1.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on EMN. Bank of America downgraded Eastman Chemical from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $114.00 to $119.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Eastman Chemical from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock 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 research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $112.86.

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.