Erste Asset Management GmbH Invests $500,000 in Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT)

Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 5,450 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $500,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Cabot by 103.9% during the third 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 position in Cabot during the third quarter worth about $654,000. Delta Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Cabot during the fourth quarter worth about $274,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Cabot during the fourth quarter worth about $1,269,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Cabot by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 40,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,688,000 after purchasing an additional 6,950 shares during the last quarter. 93.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cabot Stock Performance

Shares of CBT opened at $83.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 2.00. The company has a market capitalization of $4.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.46. Cabot Co. has a 1 year low of $79.57 and a 1 year high of $117.46.

Cabot (NYSE:CBT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.02. Cabot had a net margin of 10.60% and a return on equity of 26.79%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Cabot Co. will post 7.57 EPS for the current year.

Cabot Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Cabot’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.84%.

Cabot declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CBT has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Cabot from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Cabot from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Cabot from $122.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.