Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Sells 131 Shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT lowered its position in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,426 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 131 shares during the quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter worth about $234,000. Cumberland Partners Ltd grew its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 63,125 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,765,000 after buying an additional 11,590 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,296 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,214,000 after buying an additional 1,870 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 9,268 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $846,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its stake in shares of Eastman Chemical by 57.5% during the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 5,451 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $498,000 after acquiring an additional 1,990 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Julie A. Mcalindon sold 4,456 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.84, for a total transaction of $471,623.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $466,013.52. This represents a 50.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Stephen Glenn Crawford sold 10,504 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,965,135. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EMN opened at $98.63 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $94.42 and a 200 day moving average of $100.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $11.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.44. Eastman Chemical has a 52 week low of $85.28 and a 52 week high of $114.50.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.27. Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 16.27% and a net margin of 9.65%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is 43.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on EMN. Citigroup downgraded Eastman Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $118.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Eastman Chemical from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eastman Chemical currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.08.

Eastman Chemical 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.