Teacher Retirement System of Texas Invests $1.49 Million in Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 16,955 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,494,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 62.3% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 323 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its position 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 worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in Eastman Chemical by 135.7% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 528 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $106.00 to $93.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $76.00 target price (down previously from $112.00) on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research report on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $112.00 to $87.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $125.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $97.08.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

Shares of EMN stock traded down $1.84 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $77.10. The company had a trading volume of 921,533 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,246,916. 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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $78.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.94. The stock has a market cap of $8.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.81, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.22. Eastman Chemical Company has a 52-week low of $70.90 and a 52-week high of $114.50.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.02. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 9.85%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.61 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Eastman Chemical Company 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 was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.31%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. Eastman Chemical's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.24%.

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.