Aviva PLC Cuts Stock Position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Aviva PLC trimmed its position in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC – Get Rating) by 36.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,603 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,409 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Balchem were worth $928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BCPC. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in Balchem by 1.7% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,900,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $595,802,000 after acquiring an additional 83,220 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Balchem by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,862,027 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $469,545,000 after purchasing an additional 261,534 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Balchem by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,067,814 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $129,825,000 after buying an additional 17,532 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Balchem by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,040,578 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $127,065,000 after buying an additional 7,062 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneva Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Balchem by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 750,324 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $91,622,000 after buying an additional 23,776 shares during the last quarter. 89.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Balchem Stock Performance

Shares of BCPC opened at $124.17 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $126.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $129.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 2.88. The stock has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.58 and a beta of 0.70. Balchem Co. has a one year low of $110.15 and a one year high of $143.88.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC – Get Rating) last released its 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). Balchem had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 10.48%. The firm had revenue of $232.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $232.00 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Balchem Co. will post 3.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David B. Fischer sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.01, for a total transaction of $381,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,193,335.69. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Balchem news, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 2,300 shares of the business’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 value of $299,828.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $707,072.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David B. Fischer sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.01, for a total transaction of $381,030.00. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BCPC shares. HC Wainwright dropped their price target on Balchem from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Monday, February 27th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Balchem in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock.

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.