Fifth Third Bancorp Reduces Holdings in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Fifth Third Bancorp lowered its position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 17.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 34,972 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 7,296 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $3,194,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in Eastman Chemical by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,285,230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $595,820,000 after purchasing an additional 70,692 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 5.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,219,438 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $593,233,000 after buying an additional 282,458 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,784,102 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $310,628,000 after buying an additional 13,381 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 3.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,734,190 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $306,093,000 after buying an additional 83,504 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 947,473 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $106,070,000 after acquiring an additional 126,301 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

Shares of EMN opened at $93.27 on Tuesday. Eastman Chemical has a 12 month low of $80.71 and a 12 month high of $114.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $95.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.16. 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 firm has a market cap of $10.81 billion, a PE ratio of 12.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.44.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.38 billion. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 15.37%. Eastman Chemical’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.47 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Eastman Chemical will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,287 shares in the company, valued at $4,965,135. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $466,013.52. The trade was a 50.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,021 shares of company stock valued at $1,895,948. Company insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on EMN. Bank of America upgraded Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $115.00 to $109.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Eastman Chemical from $105.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.92.

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.