2,702 Shares in Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT) Purchased by Stevens Capital Management LP

Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 2,702 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Cabot during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Cabot by 22.0% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 650 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Cabot by 37.2% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 808 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Cabot by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,348 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cabot by 1,685.1% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,678 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,584 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CBT shares. StockNews.com cut Cabot from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Cabot from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Cabot from $122.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.00.

Cabot Price Performance

CBT stock opened at $84.06 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $86.28 and a 200-day moving average of $98.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.21. Cabot Co. has a 12 month low of $79.57 and a 12 month high of $117.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Cabot (NYSE:CBT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.02. Cabot had a net margin of 10.60% and a return on equity of 26.79%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cabot Co. will post 7.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cabot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Cabot’s payout ratio is currently 22.84%.

Cabot declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 3rd that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Cabot Company Profile

Cabot Corporation operates as a specialty chemicals and performance materials company. The company operates through two segments, Reinforcement Materials and Performance Chemicals. It offers reinforcing carbons that are used in tires as a rubber reinforcing agent and performance additive, as well as in industrial products, such as hoses, belts, extruded profiles, and molded goods; and engineered elastomer composites solutions.