Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Cuts Stake in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lowered its stake in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,910 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,586 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned about 0.06% of Balchem worth $2,664,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of Balchem by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 6,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $974,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Balchem by 123.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 165 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Balchem by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 7,970 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,309 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Balchem by 26.4% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 18,836 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,802,000 after buying an additional 3,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Balchem in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,395,000. 87.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Balchem from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st.

Insider Activity at Balchem

In related news, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 11,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.21, for a total transaction of $1,700,631.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,032,022.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CAO William A. Backus sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.19, for a total value of $1,086,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,793.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 11,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.21, for a total value of $1,700,631.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,032,022.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 76,630 shares of company stock worth $11,843,249 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

Balchem Stock Down 3.1 %

Balchem stock opened at $140.64 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.12. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $152.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.98, a P/E/G ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.71. Balchem Co. has a one year low of $110.74 and a one year high of $159.52.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The basic materials company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.02. Balchem had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 10.69%. The company had revenue of $228.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $234.66 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. Balchem’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Balchem Co. will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

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.