Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) Shares Bought by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC – Get Rating) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,063 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Balchem were worth $1,107,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCPC. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in Balchem by 6.2% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 28,640 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in Balchem by 4.9% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 11,409 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,560,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in Balchem by 55.3% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 17,389 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,377,000 after acquiring an additional 6,189 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Balchem by 22.8% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 96,068 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,132,000 after acquiring an additional 17,824 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. grew its position in Balchem by 1.0% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,890,972 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $668,595,000 after acquiring an additional 46,959 shares during the period. 89.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 2,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.36, for a total value of $299,828.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,424 shares in the company, valued at $707,072.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Balchem news, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 2,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.36, for a total transaction of $299,828.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,424 shares in the company, valued at $707,072.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director David B. Fischer sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.01, for a total value of $381,030.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,193,335.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BCPC has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Balchem in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. HC Wainwright lowered their price target on Balchem from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Monday, February 27th.

Balchem Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BCPC opened at $125.53 on Friday. Balchem Co. has a 1-year low of $110.15 and a 1-year high of $143.88. The business has a 50-day moving average of $126.79 and a 200-day moving average of $130.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 1.81. The company has a market capitalization of $4.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.02 and a beta of 0.70.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.08). Balchem had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 10.48%. The business had revenue of $232.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $232.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Balchem Co. will post 3.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Balchem Company Profile

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Balchem Corp. provides marketing of specialty performance ingredients and products. It operates through the following segments: Human Nutrition and Health, Animal Nutrition and Health, Specialty Products and Industrial Products. The Human Nutrition and Health segment supplies ingredients in the food and beverage industry, providing customized solutions in powder, solid and liquid flavor delivery systems, spray dried emulsified powder systems, and cereal systems.