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

ARK Investment Management LLC lowered its position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,969 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 154 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $177,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 213.8% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Eastman Chemical Stock Up 1.3 %

Eastman Chemical stock opened at $99.58 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.52. Eastman Chemical has a fifty-two week low of $68.89 and a fifty-two week high of $100.37. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $87.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.09.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 9.71%. Eastman Chemical’s revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Eastman Chemical will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $91.00 to $89.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $96.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $82.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastman Chemical

In other Eastman Chemical news, SVP Adrian James Holt sold 4,735 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.75, for a total value of $415,496.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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.