Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) CEO Sells $10,318,864.20 in Stock

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) CEO Mark J. Costa sold 102,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.78, for a total transaction of $10,318,864.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 395,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,878,545.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

Eastman Chemical stock traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $100.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 716,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,074,451. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.54. Eastman Chemical has a twelve month low of $68.89 and a twelve month high of $102.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $95.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 10.16%. Eastman Chemical’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on EMN shares. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Eastman Chemical from $101.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $85.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $102.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Mizuho increased their price target on Eastman Chemical from $91.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eastman Chemical presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.18.

Institutional Trading of Eastman Chemical

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Eastman Chemical during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eastman Chemical during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 213.8% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Eastman Chemical Company Profile

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.