Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN) Stock Holdings Lessened by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its stake in Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN - Free Report) by 15.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 79,529 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 14,400 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned about 0.07% of Eastman Chemical worth $7,007,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EMN. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 62.3% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 323 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 384.4% in 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 period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 135.7% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 528 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eastman Chemical Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of EMN stock traded up $1.29 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $79.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,367,587 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,229,961. Eastman Chemical Company has a 1-year low of $70.90 and a 1-year high of $114.50. The company has a market capitalization of $9.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $78.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.66.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.35 billion. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.85% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The company's quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.61 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Eastman Chemical Company will post 8.55 EPS for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.18%. Eastman Chemical's payout ratio is currently 42.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EMN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $120.00 to $106.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Eastman Chemical from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $91.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $125.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $76.00 price target (down previously from $112.00) on shares of Eastman Chemical in a report on Monday, April 28th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eastman Chemical presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $98.54.

Eastman Chemical 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.