Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Trims Stake in Eastman Chemical Company $EMN

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN) by 83.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,826 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 30,286 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Eastman Chemical were worth $367,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EMN. Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical during the second quarter worth approximately $392,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 235.2% during the 2nd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 66,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,942,000 after purchasing an additional 46,453 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Eastman Chemical by 19.2% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 67,112 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,066,000 after purchasing an additional 10,813 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Eastman Chemical by 9.2% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 472,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,268,000 after purchasing an additional 39,930 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Eastman Chemical by 0.5% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,659,591 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,094,485,000 after buying an additional 79,988 shares during the period. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastman Chemical Stock Down 3.7%

Shares of NYSE EMN opened at $66.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.58. Eastman Chemical Company has a 12 month low of $56.11 and a 12 month high of $103.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.55 billion, a PE ratio of 11.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.23.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The basic materials company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.18 by ($0.04). Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 7.75% and a return on equity of 12.89%. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.26 EPS. Eastman Chemical’s quarterly revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Eastman Chemical has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.400-5.65 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Eastman Chemical Company will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. This is an increase from Eastman Chemical’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on EMN shares. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Eastman Chemical from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Eastman Chemical in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.54.

Eastman Chemical Profile

Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE: EMN) is a global specialty materials company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of advanced materials, chemicals and fibers. Its product portfolio spans performance additives, functional products, and engineered plastics designed to enhance the durability, appearance and performance of end products across diverse industries.

The company’s main business activities include the production of specialty chemicals used in adhesives, coatings, building materials and consumer care applications, as well as high-performance plastics for packaging, automotive and electronics markets.