MQS Management LLC Buys New Position in Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT)

MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 4,267 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $392,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CBT. Eventide Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cabot during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,919,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Cabot by 28.8% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 51,271 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,727,000 after buying an additional 11,471 shares in the last quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA lifted its holdings in shares of Cabot by 41.1% in the first quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 163,617 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $15,085,000 after buying an additional 47,682 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Cabot by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 812,614 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $67,854,000 after buying an additional 205,582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its holdings in Cabot by 267.3% during the fourth quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 11,380 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $950,000 after acquiring an additional 8,282 shares during the period. 93.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cabot Price Performance

CBT stock opened at $111.20 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $99.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $96.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.14 billion, a PE ratio of 14.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Cabot Co. has a one year low of $65.10 and a one year high of $111.64.

Cabot (NYSE:CBT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.20. Cabot had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 26.99%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.42 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Cabot Co. will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Cabot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Cabot’s dividend payout ratio is 21.77%.

Insider Activity at Cabot

In other Cabot news, CEO Sean D. Keohane sold 25,617 shares of Cabot stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.55, for a total transaction of $2,601,406.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 331,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,630,719.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Sean D. Keohane sold 25,617 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.55, for a total transaction of $2,601,406.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 331,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,630,719.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Erica Mclaughlin sold 23,274 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.79, for a total transaction of $2,322,512.46. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 59,814 shares in the company, valued at $5,968,839.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 71,939 shares of company stock valued at $7,308,812. Company insiders own 3.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CBT shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Cabot from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Cabot from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Cabot from $103.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.75.

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.