Squarepoint Ops LLC Sells 75,897 Shares of Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT)

Squarepoint Ops LLC decreased its holdings in Cabot Co. (NYSE:CBT - Free Report) by 93.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,595 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 75,897 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in Cabot were worth $511,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Cabot in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Cabot by 37.2% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 808 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Cabot by 1,685.1% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,678 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 1,584 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Cabot by 43.1% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,046 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $187,000 after buying an additional 616 shares during the period. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in Cabot during the 4th quarter worth about $205,000. 93.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CBT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Cabot from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group lowered their target price on Cabot from $93.00 to $83.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Cabot from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th.

Cabot Stock Performance

Shares of CBT stock traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $75.05. 398,357 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 410,804. Cabot Co. has a fifty-two week low of $71.64 and a fifty-two week high of $117.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $76.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.03. 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 earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $936.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Cabot had a return on equity of 26.79% and a net margin of 10.60%. Cabot's revenue was down 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Cabot Co. will post 7.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cabot Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. This is a boost from Cabot's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Cabot's dividend payout ratio is 23.29%.

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.