Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Stake Lessened by Deprince Race & Zollo Inc.

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. decreased its holdings in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Free Report) by 22.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 188,078 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 54,759 shares during the quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Eastman Chemical worth $17,175,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EMN. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 62.3% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 323 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 384.4% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 373 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America raised Eastman Chemical from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $115.00 to $109.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Eastman Chemical from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $91.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (down from $112.00) on shares of Eastman Chemical in a report on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $112.00 to $87.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $125.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Eastman Chemical presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $99.15.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

NYSE EMN traded down $0.38 on Tuesday, reaching $82.39. 2,018,695 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,062,069. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $82.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $9.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.29. Eastman Chemical has a 12 month low of $70.90 and a 12 month high of $114.50.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.02. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 16.27% and a net margin of 9.65%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.61 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.03%. Eastman Chemical's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.24%.

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.