Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Shares Sold by RNC Capital Management LLC

RNC Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,815 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 425 shares during the period. RNC Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in Eastman Chemical by 213.8% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Eastman Chemical news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 4,735 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.75, for a total transaction of $415,496.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on EMN. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $82.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $102.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Eastman Chemical in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.75.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

EMN stock opened at $99.58 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $87.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.09. The stock has a market cap of $11.71 billion, a PE ratio of 13.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Eastman Chemical has a 1 year low of $68.89 and a 1 year high of $100.37.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.21 billion. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 9.71%. The company’s revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is 43.26%.

Eastman Chemical Company 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.