BNP Paribas Financial Markets Lowers Position in Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets decreased its holdings in Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT - Free Report) by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,310 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 4,837 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.06% of Cabot worth $3,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Cabot by 571.9% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 127,116 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $11,681,000 after buying an additional 108,197 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cabot by 24.0% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 42,240 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,881,000 after acquiring an additional 8,175 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cabot by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,363,398 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $309,063,000 after acquiring an additional 80,096 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in Cabot by 1,295.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 26,899 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,472,000 after acquiring an additional 24,972 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Cabot by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 707,433 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $79,070,000 after purchasing an additional 19,215 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.18% of the company's stock.

Cabot Trading Up 1.3 %

CBT traded up $1.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $105.03. 340,035 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 346,106. Cabot Co. has a 1-year low of $70.63 and a 1-year high of $117.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.18. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $110.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $103.15.

Cabot (NYSE:CBT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.81 by ($0.01). Cabot had a return on equity of 26.60% and a net margin of 9.51%. The firm had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. Cabot's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Cabot Co. will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cabot Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Cabot's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.52%.

Cabot declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 3rd that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho lifted their price target on Cabot from $103.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Cabot from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $105.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cabot has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $105.00.

Insider Activity at Cabot

In other Cabot news, EVP Hobart Kalkstein sold 34,759 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.23, for a total value of $4,005,279.57. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 50,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,833,749.21. This represents a 40.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Lisa M. Dumont sold 865 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.74, for a total value of $96,655.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,742 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,088,571.08. This trade represents a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,190 shares of company stock worth $5,751,534 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.07% of the company's stock.

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.