Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lowered its position in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 15.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,567 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 467 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Balchem were worth $418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Annex Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Balchem by 35.4% in the 4th quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,496 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,222,000 after buying an additional 1,959 shares during the period. Heritage Family Offices LLP lifted its position in shares of Balchem by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 1,420 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Balchem by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 5,821 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $949,000 after purchasing an additional 1,636 shares during the last quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC grew its position in shares of Balchem by 63.7% in the 4th quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 35,069 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,438,000 after buying an additional 13,642 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Balchem by 1.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 458,986 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $80,782,000 after purchasing an additional 7,721 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Balchem Stock Down 1.2 %

BCPC opened at $160.23 on Monday. Balchem Co. has a 12 month low of $137.69 and a 12 month high of $186.03. The business has a 50-day moving average of $168.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $170.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.69. 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 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 issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is an increase from Balchem’s previous annual dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Balchem’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.39%.

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.