Blue Trust Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Blue Trust Inc. lessened its stake in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 60.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 328 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 511 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Balchem were worth $53,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Balchem by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,234,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $217,224,000 after purchasing an additional 12,006 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Balchem by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,175,569 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $206,900,000 after buying an additional 20,360 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Balchem by 3.1% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Balchem by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 779,869 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $137,257,000 after acquiring an additional 12,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Balchem by 944.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 497,495 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $87,559,000 after acquiring an additional 449,854 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on BCPC. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Balchem in a report on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday.

Balchem Stock Performance

Shares of Balchem stock opened at $173.59 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a PE ratio of 44.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.69. Balchem Co. has a 1 year low of $137.69 and a 1 year high of $186.03. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $162.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.99.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.08). Balchem had a return on equity of 11.37% and a net margin of 13.47%. The firm had revenue of $240.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.96 million. Equities analysts forecast that Balchem Co. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Balchem Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This is an increase from Balchem’s previous annual dividend of $0.79. Balchem’s payout ratio is currently 22.14%.

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.