Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 28,316 Shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) by 16.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 204,027 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 28,316 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.18% of Eastman Chemical worth $18,091,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Korea Investment CORP grew its position in Eastman Chemical by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 136,994 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,510,000 after acquiring an additional 14,900 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 26.1% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 109,873 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,034,000 after purchasing an additional 22,722 shares during the last quarter. Walnut Level Capital LLC raised its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Walnut Level Capital LLC now owns 161,042 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,706,000 after buying an additional 7,500 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in Eastman Chemical by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 190,050 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,355,000 after buying an additional 18,827 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,154,000. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on EMN shares. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Eastman Chemical from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised Eastman Chemical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.08.

Eastman Chemical Stock Performance

NYSE:EMN opened at $87.09 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Eastman Chemical has a twelve month low of $86.50 and a twelve month high of $114.50. The company has a fifty day moving average of $95.66 and a 200-day moving average of $99.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.43.

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

Eastman Chemical Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.81%. Eastman Chemical’s payout ratio is currently 43.23%.

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.