Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 96,465 Shares of Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT)

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its position in shares of Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT) by 54.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 81,008 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 96,465 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Cabot worth $7,397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Cabot by 103.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 113,614 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $12,699,000 after purchasing an additional 57,907 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cabot during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $654,000. Delta Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Cabot in the 4th quarter worth approximately $274,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Cabot in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,269,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Cabot by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 40,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,688,000 after acquiring an additional 6,950 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Cabot Price Performance

Cabot stock opened at $82.26 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.92, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $85.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.16. Cabot Co. has a 52 week low of $79.57 and a 52 week high of $117.46.

Cabot (NYSE:CBT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Cabot Co. will post 7.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cabot Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Cabot’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.84%.

Cabot declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 3rd that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.