Erste Asset Management GmbH Makes New Investment in Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT)

Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 5,450 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $500,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CBT. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Cabot by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 761,372 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $69,521,000 after acquiring an additional 135,119 shares in the last quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Cabot in the fourth quarter worth $6,228,000. Barclays PLC increased its position 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 worth $12,699,000 after acquiring an additional 57,907 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cabot in the fourth quarter worth $5,057,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Cabot by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 355,334 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $39,716,000 after purchasing an additional 41,554 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.18% of the company’s stock.

Cabot Price Performance

Shares of CBT stock opened at $83.47 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Cabot Co. has a 1-year low of $79.57 and a 1-year high of $117.46. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $86.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.46.

Cabot (NYSE:CBT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 10.60% and a return on equity of 26.79%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Cabot Co. will post 7.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cabot declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 3rd that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Cabot Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CBT. Mizuho lowered their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Cabot from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Cabot from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.