Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT) Shares Sold by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT) by 20.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,862 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 988 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Cabot were worth $353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Cabot in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cabot by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 650 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cabot by 10.7% in the 4th 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. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cabot by 1,685.1% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,678 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $153,000 after buying an additional 1,584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Cabot by 43.1% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,046 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $187,000 after buying an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.18% of the company’s stock.

Cabot Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of CBT stock opened at $82.49 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Cabot Co. has a fifty-two week low of $79.57 and a fifty-two week high of $117.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $86.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.93.

Cabot (NYSE:CBT) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.76 EPS 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, analysts anticipate that Cabot Co. will post 7.57 EPS for the current year.

Cabot announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 3rd that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Cabot Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Cabot’s payout ratio is currently 22.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho decreased their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Cabot from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Cabot from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.00.

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.