Rhumbline Advisers Purchases 7,419 Shares of Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT)

Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT - Free Report) by 4.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 185,850 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,419 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.35% of Cabot worth $15,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Cabot by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,323,347 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $120,835,000 after buying an additional 103,380 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Cabot by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 942,273 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $86,039,000 after purchasing an additional 53,090 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Cabot by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 845,261 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $77,181,000 after purchasing an additional 55,905 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Cabot by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 794,477 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $72,544,000 after purchasing an additional 87,881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Cabot by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 710,608 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $64,886,000 after buying an additional 3,175 shares during the period. 93.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cabot Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:CBT traded up $1.64 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $76.70. 364,837 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 410,620. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $76.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.03. Cabot Co. has a one year low of $71.64 and a one year high of $117.46. The company has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Cabot (NYSE:CBT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.04. Cabot had a net margin of 10.60% and a return on equity of 26.79%. The company had revenue of $936.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cabot Co. will post 7.57 EPS for the current year.

Cabot Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This is a positive change from Cabot's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Cabot's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Cabot from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Cabot from $93.00 to $83.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Cabot from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st.

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.