UBS Group AG Buys 57,442 Shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 646,232 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 57,442 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned about 0.55% of Eastman Chemical worth $58,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of 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. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Eastman Chemical

In other news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 3,662 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total transaction of $370,814.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Mark J. Costa sold 102,390 shares of Eastman Chemical 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 transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 3,662 shares of Eastman Chemical stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.26, for a total value of $370,814.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 110,787 shares of company stock worth $11,105,175. 1.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

Eastman Chemical stock opened at $100.23 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $98.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.01. The stock has a market cap of $11.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.54. Eastman Chemical has a 12-month low of $68.89 and a 12-month high of $102.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 10.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Eastman Chemical will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is currently 41.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on EMN. Citigroup upped their target price on Eastman Chemical from $95.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Eastman Chemical in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Eastman Chemical from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Eastman Chemical from $101.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Eastman Chemical from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Eastman Chemical presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.24.

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.