Teacher Retirement System of Texas Boosts Stock Position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Free Report) by 21.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 97,866 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 17,371 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned 0.08% of Eastman Chemical worth $8,790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Eastman Chemical by 213.8% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 408 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company's stock.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

EMN stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $101.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 539,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,067,476. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a 50 day moving average of $96.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $88.42. Eastman Chemical has a 12 month low of $68.89 and a 12 month high of $102.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.54.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 10.16% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The business's revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Eastman Chemical will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Eastman Chemical's payout ratio is 41.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on EMN shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Eastman Chemical from $101.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $95.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $91.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eastman Chemical presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $104.18.

Insider Activity

In other Eastman Chemical news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 4,735 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.75, for a total transaction of $415,496.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Mark J. Costa sold 102,390 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 395,699 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $39,878,545.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 4,735 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.75, for a total value of $415,496.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 110,787 shares of company stock worth $11,105,175 over the last 90 days. 2.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.