Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) Shares Purchased by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 0.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 697,461 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,977 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 2.15% of Balchem worth $107,372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Balchem in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Balchem by 568.9% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 301 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Balchem in the first quarter worth $69,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Balchem by 18.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 473 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Balchem in the second quarter worth $200,000. 87.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Balchem

In other Balchem news, SVP Gunsteren Job Leonard Van sold 7,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.05, for a total transaction of $1,395,387.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,537,627. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Balchem Price Performance

BCPC stock opened at $175.66 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $171.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $159.44. Balchem Co. has a 12-month low of $110.74 and a 12-month high of $186.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a PE ratio of 49.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.65.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on BCPC. StockNews.com lowered Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. HC Wainwright upped their target price on Balchem from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st.

About Balchem

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.