AIA Group Ltd Takes $1.46 Million Position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

AIA Group Ltd bought a new position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 16,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,461,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,543,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in Eastman Chemical by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,229,707 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $112,297,000 after buying an additional 209,075 shares in the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Eastman Chemical by 84.5% during the fourth quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 143,482 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,103,000 after buying an additional 65,693 shares during the period. Intrust Bank NA increased its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 7,776 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $710,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allstate Corp purchased a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter valued at $327,000. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastman Chemical Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:EMN opened at $88.14 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $95.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.51. Eastman Chemical has a 1-year low of $85.84 and a 1-year high of $114.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.43.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.27. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 16.27%. Equities analysts anticipate that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 EPS for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on EMN shares. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Eastman Chemical from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 18th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Eastman Chemical from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $115.00 to $109.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.08.

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.