Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT) Shares Sold by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets decreased its holdings in shares of Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT) by 36.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 19,330 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 10,980 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Cabot were worth $1,765,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Cabot by 103.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 113,614 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $12,699,000 after acquiring an additional 57,907 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cabot in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $654,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cabot by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 4,113 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Cabot by 165.5% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 5,543 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $506,000 after acquiring an additional 3,455 shares during the period. Finally, Paradiem LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cabot by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Paradiem LLC now owns 132,275 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $12,078,000 after acquiring an additional 19,903 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CBT. UBS Group lowered their price target on Cabot from $93.00 to $83.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Cabot from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Cabot from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th.

Cabot Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CBT opened at $76.64 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $79.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.97. The stock has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a PE ratio of 10.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 2.00. Cabot Co. has a one year low of $71.64 and a one year high of $117.46.

Cabot (NYSE:CBT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.04. Cabot had a return on equity of 26.79% and a net margin of 10.60%. The business had revenue of $936.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Cabot Co. will post 7.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cabot Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. This is a boost from Cabot’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Cabot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.29%.

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.