Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC – Get Rating) by 574.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,122 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,176 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Balchem were worth $1,595,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Annex Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Balchem by 14.3% during the third quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 21,034 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,557,000 after buying an additional 2,635 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Balchem by 2.6% during the third quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,033,516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $125,655,000 after buying an additional 26,163 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC purchased a new stake in Balchem during the third quarter worth about $206,000. Cardinal Capital Management increased its holdings in Balchem by 1.4% during the third quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 18,751 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,280,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Balchem during the third quarter worth about $772,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.29% of the company’s stock.

Balchem Price Performance

BCPC opened at $126.45 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.75 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $130.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $130.55. Balchem Co. has a twelve month low of $110.15 and a twelve month high of $152.81.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.91 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $244.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $241.00 million. Balchem had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 11.80%. Equities analysts expect that Balchem Co. will post 3.49 EPS for the current year.

Balchem Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 27th will be given a $0.71 dividend. This is a positive change from Balchem’s previous annual dividend of $0.64. This represents a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 23rd. Balchem’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Balchem in a report on Wednesday, October 12th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. HC Wainwright decreased their price objective on shares of Balchem from $164.00 to $152.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 7th.

Balchem Company Profile

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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 in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Human Nutrition & Health, Animal Nutrition & Health, and Specialty Products.