Renaissance Technologies LLC Boosts Stake in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 3.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 177,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 5,600 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.55% of Balchem worth $27,265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BCPC. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Balchem during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Balchem by 568.9% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 301 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Balchem during the first quarter worth $69,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Balchem by 18.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 473 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Balchem during the second quarter worth $200,000. 87.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on BCPC shares. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on Balchem from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com cut Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th.

Insider Activity at Balchem

In related news, SVP Gunsteren Job Leonard Van sold 7,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.05, for a total value of $1,395,387.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,540 shares in the company, valued at $1,537,627. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.25% of the company’s stock.

Balchem Stock Performance

NASDAQ BCPC opened at $178.28 on Friday. Balchem Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.74 and a fifty-two week high of $186.03. The stock has a market cap of $5.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a fifty day moving average of $171.31 and a 200-day moving average of $159.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The basic materials company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $234.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $241.26 million. Balchem had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 12.52%. As a group, analysts predict that Balchem Co. will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Balchem Profile

Balchem Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets specialty performance ingredients and products for the nutritional, food, pharmaceutical, animal health, medical device sterilization, plant nutrition, and industrial markets worldwide. It operates through three segments: Human Nutrition and Health, Animal Nutrition and Health, and Specialty Products.