Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) Shares Bought by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 1.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 458,986 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,721 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 1.41% of Balchem worth $80,782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in Balchem by 26.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,893 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,093,000 after buying an additional 2,467 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Balchem by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 928,904 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $163,514,000 after acquiring an additional 27,979 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Balchem by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 233,831 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,998,000 after purchasing an additional 18,104 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Balchem by 22.1% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,582 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,169,000 after purchasing an additional 3,732 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Balchem by 2.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 361,970 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $63,707,000 after purchasing an additional 7,562 shares in the last quarter. 87.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Balchem Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of Balchem stock opened at $158.58 on Friday. Balchem Co. has a twelve month low of $135.84 and a twelve month high of $186.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $174.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a PE ratio of 42.63, a P/E/G ratio of 5.32 and a beta of 0.67.

Balchem Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 26th. This is a positive change from Balchem’s previous annual dividend of $0.79. This represents a dividend yield of 0.4%. Balchem’s payout ratio is currently 23.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BCPC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Balchem from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Balchem from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th.

Balchem Company 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.