Van ECK Associates Corp Purchases 9,014 Shares of Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT - Free Report) by 40.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,549 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 9,014 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.06% of Cabot worth $3,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Cabot by 2.4% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Cabot by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,348,972 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $123,965,000 after purchasing an additional 4,437 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Cabot by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 976,709 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $89,750,000 after buying an additional 66,171 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Cabot by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 913,259 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $83,919,000 after buying an additional 51,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Cabot by 1.8% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 693,580 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $63,733,000 after buying an additional 11,986 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Cabot

In other news, EVP Jeff Ji Zhu sold 1,201 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.19, for a total value of $127,534.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 96,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,194,240. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Cabot news, EVP Hobart Kalkstein sold 5,457 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.58, for a total value of $548,865.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 61,688 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,204,579.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeff Ji Zhu sold 1,201 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.19, for a total transaction of $127,534.19. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 96,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,194,240. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 48,665 shares of company stock valued at $4,986,299. 3.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cabot Stock Down 1.4 %

Cabot stock traded down $1.61 on Friday, hitting $114.99. 522,848 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 362,496. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $109.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.61. The firm has a market cap of $6.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Cabot Co. has a 1 year low of $70.63 and a 1 year high of $117.46.

Cabot (NYSE:CBT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.81 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Cabot had a return on equity of 26.60% and a net margin of 9.51%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cabot Co. will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Cabot Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. Cabot's payout ratio is 25.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Cabot from $103.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Cabot from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Cabot from $103.00 to $98.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $105.00.

About Cabot

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.