The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Raises Holdings in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 4.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,423 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 708 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.06% of Balchem worth $2,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BCPC. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Balchem during the 2nd quarter worth $385,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in Balchem in the second quarter worth about $898,000. Xponance Inc. lifted its position in shares of Balchem by 5.2% during the second quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 2,046 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Balchem in the 2nd quarter valued at about $268,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of Balchem by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 71,312 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,978,000 after buying an additional 5,220 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BCPC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on Balchem from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st.

Balchem Price Performance

Shares of BCPC stock opened at $169.81 on Wednesday. Balchem Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.74 and a fifty-two week high of $186.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.97, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $170.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.77.

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

Insider Activity 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,537,627. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.