Empowered Funds LLC Invests $1.27 Million in Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT)

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 13,902 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $1,269,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Cabot by 103.9% during the 3rd 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. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cabot during the 3rd quarter worth about $654,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cabot by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 40,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,688,000 after acquiring an additional 6,950 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cabot during the 3rd quarter worth about $609,000. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Cabot by 165.5% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 5,543 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $506,000 after acquiring an additional 3,455 shares in the last quarter. 93.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cabot Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CBT traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $88.30. The stock had a trading volume of 373,045 shares, compared to its average volume of 394,764. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $90.21 and a 200-day moving average of $101.16. The company has a current ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $4.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.73, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.19. Cabot Co. has a fifty-two week low of $80.21 and a fifty-two week high of $117.46.

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

Cabot Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Cabot's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.84%.

Cabot announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CBT shares. StockNews.com raised Cabot from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Cabot from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $105.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on Cabot from $122.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cabot has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $102.00.

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.