Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) Shares Sold by Fruth Investment Management

Fruth Investment Management cut its holdings in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,550 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Fruth Investment Management’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $598,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 238.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 284 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in Eastman Chemical by 94.7% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Eastman Chemical during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in Eastman Chemical by 784.4% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 681 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastman Chemical

In related news, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $1,102,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,965,135. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total transaction of $471,623.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $466,013.52. This trade represents a 50.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.28% of the company’s stock.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

NYSE:EMN opened at $101.85 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a 50-day moving average of $94.59 and a 200-day moving average of $100.08. Eastman Chemical has a twelve month low of $81.00 and a twelve month high of $114.50. The firm has a market cap of $11.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.44.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.27. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 16.40%. Analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. This is a boost from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on EMN. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $105.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $110.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America raised Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $115.00 to $109.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on Eastman Chemical from $121.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Six equities research 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 stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $113.54.

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.