Handelsbanken Fonder AB Purchases 900 Shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 15.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 900 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Balchem were worth $974,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BCPC. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Balchem by 123.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 165 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Balchem during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Balchem by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 953 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Bill Few Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Balchem during the 4th quarter valued at $212,000. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Balchem in the 4th quarter valued at $220,000. 87.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Balchem Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ BCPC opened at $139.26 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a PE ratio of 41.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.71. Balchem Co. has a 52 week low of $110.74 and a 52 week high of $159.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $152.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.04.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 16th. The basic materials company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.02. Balchem had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 11.77%. The firm had revenue of $228.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $234.66 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Balchem Co. will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 11,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,032,022.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CAO William A. Backus sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.73, for a total value of $2,320,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,914 shares in the company, valued at $1,998,183.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 11,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,032,022.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 76,630 shares of company stock valued at $11,843,249. 1.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday.

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.