1,523 Shares in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) Acquired by Heritage Wealth Management LLC

Heritage Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 1,523 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Balchem by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 121,530 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $15,075,000 after purchasing an additional 7,973 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its holdings in Balchem by 71.0% in the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 51,300 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,662,000 after acquiring an additional 21,300 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Balchem in the third quarter worth approximately $465,000. Congress Asset Management Co. MA raised its stake in Balchem by 32.5% during the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 225,303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,947,000 after purchasing an additional 55,203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in shares of Balchem by 81.3% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 13,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,613,000 after buying an additional 5,829 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Balchem Stock Performance

NASDAQ BCPC traded up $3.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $149.40. 39,308 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 104,179. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.58, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $151.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $140.41. Balchem Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.74 and a fifty-two week high of $159.52.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The basic materials company reported $0.95 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $228.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $234.66 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Balchem Co. will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 11,100 shares of Balchem stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,032,022.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Balchem 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO William A. Backus sold 15,000 shares of Balchem stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.73, for a total value of $2,320,950.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,914 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,183.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 76,630 shares of company stock valued at $11,843,249. 1.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th.

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.