Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 222,471 Shares of Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN)

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its position in Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,579,603 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 222,471 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.63% of Eastman Chemical worth $1,284,609,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EMN. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in Eastman Chemical by 46.4% during the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 536 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the first quarter worth about $50,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 68.5% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 556 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 105.3% in the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 618 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastman Chemical Stock Down 0.9%

EMN traded down $0.61 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $65.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 297,386 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,564,376. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.25, a PEG ratio of 6.21 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock's 50-day moving average is $74.54 and its 200-day moving average is $82.71. Eastman Chemical Company has a 1 year low of $56.78 and a 1 year high of $114.50.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.72 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 8.96% and a return on equity of 15.24%. Eastman Chemical's revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.15 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Eastman Chemical Company will post 8.55 EPS for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. Eastman Chemical's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on EMN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $76.00 target price (down previously from $112.00) on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $125.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $87.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $91.00 to $74.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $107.00 to $101.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.00.

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.