Stephens Inc. AR Makes New $262,000 Investment in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Stephens Inc. AR acquired a new position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,869 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $262,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 67.8% in the 4th quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 5,589 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $508,000 after buying an additional 2,259 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,379 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,587,000 after buying an additional 3,412 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Eastman Chemical by 35.1% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,339 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 867 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in Eastman Chemical by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 12,135 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Eastman Chemical by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 10,010 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $914,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eastman Chemical Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of EMN traded down $0.68 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $100.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 678,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,126,656. The business has a fifty day moving average of $94.40 and a 200 day moving average of $100.17. The company has a market cap of $11.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.44. Eastman Chemical has a 1 year low of $83.83 and a 1 year 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.27. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 16.40% and a net margin of 9.65%. As a group, analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Eastman Chemical's payout ratio is currently 43.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was 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 directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total value of $471,623.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $466,013.52. This represents a 50.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EMN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Eastman Chemical from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $110.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup lowered Eastman Chemical from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $118.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Eastman Chemical from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised Eastman Chemical from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Eastman Chemical from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $114.08.

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.