Franklin Resources Inc. Has $593.23 Million Stock Holdings in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,219,438 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 282,458 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $593,233,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 492.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 213,161 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $23,863,000 after buying an additional 177,207 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 13.5% during the second quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 22,280 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,183,000 after acquiring an additional 2,655 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 21.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 110,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,383,000 after purchasing an additional 19,809 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 6.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 148,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,588,000 after purchasing an additional 9,447 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 36.6% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 536,443 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $52,555,000 after purchasing an additional 143,866 shares during the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EMN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America cut shares of Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $114.00 to $119.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Eastman Chemical from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $110.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.86.

Eastman Chemical Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of EMN opened at $98.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.52. Eastman Chemical has a 52-week low of $80.71 and a 52-week high of $114.50. The firm has a market cap of $11.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.19, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.42. The business’s fifty day moving average is $104.33 and its 200-day moving average is $101.76.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.12. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 9.47%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.47 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Eastman Chemical will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is presently 43.37%.

Insider Transactions at Eastman Chemical

In other Eastman Chemical news, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total value of $471,623.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $466,013.52. This represents a 50.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Christopher Moore Killian sold 3,061 shares of Eastman Chemical stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $321,405.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,298,430. This trade represents a 19.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,021 shares of company stock worth $1,895,948. Corporate insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

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.