Handelsbanken Fonder AB Increases Stake in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,451 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Balchem were worth $1,377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of BCPC. Creative Planning boosted its position in Balchem by 33.4% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 9,777 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,721,000 after acquiring an additional 2,449 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in Balchem by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 54,089 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,520,000 after purchasing an additional 3,741 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Balchem during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $220,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its position in shares of Balchem by 12.5% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 1,589 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Balchem by 12.4% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 301,440 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,053,000 after purchasing an additional 33,373 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Balchem Trading Down 0.5 %

BCPC opened at $172.69 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a PE ratio of 43.94, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.69. Balchem Co. has a one year low of $137.69 and a one year high of $186.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.99. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $162.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.46.

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

Balchem Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This is a boost from Balchem’s previous annual dividend of $0.79. This represents a dividend yield of 0.4%. Balchem’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on BCPC. StockNews.com lowered Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Balchem in a research report on Monday.

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.