Principal Securities Inc. Sells 245 Shares of Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT)

Principal Securities Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT) by 16.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,248 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 245 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Cabot were worth $114,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Cabot by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 650 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew 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 in the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Cabot by 0.3% during the third quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 62,116 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,943,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in Cabot by 0.4% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 50,221 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,614,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Cabot by 35.6% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 831 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CBT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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. Mizuho lowered their price target on Cabot from $122.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Cabot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.00.

Cabot Stock Performance

NYSE CBT opened at $87.01 on Wednesday. Cabot Co. has a 52-week low of $82.27 and a 52-week high of $117.46. The stock has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a PE ratio of 11.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $88.87 and a 200-day moving average of $100.92. 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 (NYSE:CBT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.02. Cabot had a return on equity of 26.79% and a net margin of 10.60%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cabot Co. will post 7.57 EPS for the current year.

Cabot Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Cabot’s dividend payout ratio is 22.84%.

Cabot announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 3rd that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Cabot 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.