Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $2.44 Million Holdings in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its position in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 85.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,961 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 88,050 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Balchem were worth $2,439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in Balchem by 2.7% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,348 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Balchem by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 4,915 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $757,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Balchem by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,674 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in Balchem by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 2,046 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Balchem in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BCPC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HC Wainwright lifted 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. StockNews.com raised Balchem from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th.

Balchem Price Performance

Balchem stock opened at $162.10 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.58, a P/E/G ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.69. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $169.56 and its 200 day moving average is $170.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 1.90. Balchem Co. has a one year low of $137.69 and a one year high of $186.03.

Balchem Increases Dividend

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

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.