Blue Trust Inc. Sells 583 Shares of Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT)

Blue Trust Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,146 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 583 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Cabot were worth $379,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Eastern Bank lifted its position in shares of Cabot by 577.1% in the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 269,270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $30,096,000 after buying an additional 229,500 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp bought a new stake in Cabot in the 3rd quarter valued at $19,643,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cabot by 30.4% during the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 626,253 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $69,996,000 after purchasing an additional 146,179 shares during the last quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. bought a new position in Cabot during the fourth quarter worth $6,228,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Cabot by 103.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 113,614 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $12,699,000 after purchasing an additional 57,907 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.18% of the company’s stock.

Cabot Stock Performance

NYSE CBT opened at $86.53 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $90.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.26. The stock has a market cap of $4.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.49, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 2.00. Cabot Co. has a fifty-two week low of $80.21 and a fifty-two week high of $117.46.

Cabot (NYSE:CBT) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Cabot Co. will post 7.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cabot Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Cabot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.84%.

Cabot declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on CBT shares. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Cabot from $122.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Cabot from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $105.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Cabot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cabot currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.00.

About Cabot

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.