Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Trims Position in Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. decreased its holdings in Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT) by 18.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,311 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 3,577 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Cabot were worth $1,444,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Cabot in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Cabot by 37.2% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 808 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Cabot by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,348 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cabot by 1,685.1% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,678 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,584 shares during the period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cabot in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $226,000. 93.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cabot Stock Performance

Shares of Cabot stock opened at $84.01 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.16, a PEG 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’s 50-day moving average is $85.38 and its 200 day moving average is $97.86.

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

Cabot Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Cabot’s payout ratio is currently 22.84%.

Cabot declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 3rd that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Cabot from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Cabot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cabot presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.00.

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.