Valley National Advisers Inc. Sells 3,145 Shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Valley National Advisers Inc. decreased its stake in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 35.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,819 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,145 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $530,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted 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 in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in Eastman Chemical by 52.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 537 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

NYSE:EMN opened at $99.52 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Eastman Chemical has a twelve month low of $80.71 and a twelve month high of $114.50. The stock has a market cap of $11.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.02.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.27. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 15.37%. As a group, research analysts predict that Eastman Chemical will post 7.6 EPS for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. This is a boost from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup downgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $118.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $115.00 to $109.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $105.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eastman Chemical currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction 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 $4,965,135. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total value of $471,623.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,403 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,021 shares of company stock worth $1,895,948. 1.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.