Cabot Corporation Hikes Dividend Rate By 36%

Cabot Corporation CBT disclosed that its board has increased the quarterly dividend on its common stock to $0.30 per share from $0.22 per share. This represented a 36 percent increase. On an annualized basis, the latest dividend worked out to $1.20 a share compared to $0.88 a share. Cabot said that the dividend would be payable on June 10 to all its shareholders. The company has fixed the record of May 27 for determining the eligible shareholders name. The company's president and CEO, Sean Keohane, said, "Cabot has paid dividends for 48 consecutive years, since becoming a public company in 1968. We are pleased to demonstrate our commitment to returning cash to our shareholders and extending this long-term track record by raising our dividend. The Board's decision to increase the dividend reflects the continued financial strength of the Company and our confidence in the future cash flows." The current increase in dividend meant that the company boosted its dividend rate continuously for the fifth year. Before the recent dividend hike, its dividend growth rate for the average five-year period was 4.22 percent. Following the news, the stock traded 2.6 percent higher on Tuesday.