Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Raises Stock Position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 19.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,970 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,309 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Balchem were worth $1,186,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Comerica Bank bought a new stake in shares of Balchem during the 3rd quarter valued at $11,750,000. Congress Asset Management Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Balchem by 32.5% during the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 225,303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,947,000 after buying an additional 55,203 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Balchem by 142.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 85,647 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,624,000 after buying an additional 50,351 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Balchem by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 183,916 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $22,813,000 after buying an additional 36,729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Balchem by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 402,621 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,941,000 after buying an additional 36,011 shares in the last quarter. 87.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Balchem Stock Performance

Shares of Balchem stock opened at $139.26 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.34, a PEG ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $152.25 and its 200 day moving average is $139.84. Balchem Co. has a 1 year low of $110.74 and a 1 year high of $159.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The basic materials company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $228.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $234.66 million. Balchem had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 10.69%. Balchem’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Balchem Co. will post 4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 11,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.21, for a total value of $1,700,631.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,032,022.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Balchem news, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 11,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.21, for a total transaction of $1,700,631.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,032,022.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William A. Backus sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.19, for a total transaction of $1,086,330.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,793.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 76,630 shares of company stock worth $11,843,249 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

Balchem Company 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.