Virtu Financial LLC Takes Position in Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,838 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $533,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CBT. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cabot during the 4th quarter worth about $247,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in Cabot by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 23,492 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,145,000 after purchasing an additional 1,670 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cabot by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 7,831 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cabot by 91.1% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 19,630 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,792,000 after buying an additional 9,359 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Cabot during the 4th quarter worth $458,000. 93.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cabot Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CBT traded down $1.84 during trading on Friday, hitting $82.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 217,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 377,920. The company has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.92, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.21. Cabot Co. has a fifty-two week low of $79.57 and a fifty-two week high of $117.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 2.00. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $85.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.16.

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Cabot (NYSE:CBT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.02. Cabot had a return on equity of 26.79% and a net margin of 10.60%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cabot Co. will post 7.57 EPS for the current year.

Cabot Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. Cabot's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.84%.

Cabot declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 3rd that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CBT has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Cabot from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Cabot from $122.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Cabot from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $97.00.

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.