Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Sells 182 Shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC – Get Rating) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,837 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 182 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Balchem were worth $957,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Balchem by 261.3% in the third quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 271 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Balchem in the first quarter worth $34,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Balchem in the first quarter worth $67,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Balchem by 3,881.3% in the fourth quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 637 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Balchem by 532.5% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 993 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Balchem

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Balchem in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. HC Wainwright cut their price target on shares of Balchem from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Monday, February 27th.

Balchem Stock Performance

Shares of BCPC opened at $124.17 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.58 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $126.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $129.87. Balchem Co. has a 12 month low of $110.15 and a 12 month high of $143.88.

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

About Balchem

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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.