Fifth Third Bancorp Raises Holdings in Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT)

Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT) by 2.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,607 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 587 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Cabot were worth $2,353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CBT. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Cabot in the 4th quarter valued at about $240,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Cabot by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,471 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 995 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of Cabot by 97.7% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 9,309 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $777,000 after purchasing an additional 4,600 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in shares of Cabot by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 50,746 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,237,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in Cabot by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 96,712 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $8,075,000 after buying an additional 2,206 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Hobart Kalkstein sold 5,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.58, for a total value of $548,865.06. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 61,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,204,579.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Erica Mclaughlin sold 23,274 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.79, for a total value of $2,322,512.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 59,814 shares in the company, valued at $5,968,839.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Hobart Kalkstein sold 5,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.58, for a total value of $548,865.06. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 61,688 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,204,579.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CBT. StockNews.com cut Cabot from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Cabot from $103.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Cabot from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Cabot from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.75.

Cabot Stock Performance

NYSE:CBT traded up $2.26 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $101.01. 238,133 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 333,437. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.20. Cabot Co. has a 1 year low of $65.10 and a 1 year high of $103.57. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Cabot (NYSE:CBT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.20. Cabot had a net margin of 11.51% and a return on equity of 26.21%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Cabot Co. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cabot Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Cabot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.77%.

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.