B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Sells 3,008 Shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lowered its position in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC - Free Report) by 21.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,777 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 3,008 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Balchem were worth $1,757,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC raised its position in Balchem by 63.7% in the 4th quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 35,069 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,438,000 after purchasing an additional 13,642 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Balchem by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 458,986 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $80,782,000 after acquiring an additional 7,721 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Balchem by 26.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,893 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,093,000 after acquiring an additional 2,467 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Balchem during the 4th quarter worth approximately $503,000. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. increased its stake in Balchem by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 317,610 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $51,769,000 after purchasing an additional 16,170 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.91% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BCPC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Sidoti upgraded shares of Balchem to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Balchem in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Balchem from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

Balchem Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of BCPC stock traded down $4.42 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $155.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 229,987 shares, compared to its average volume of 124,047. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Balchem Co. has a one year low of $137.69 and a one year high of $186.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.63. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $165.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.04.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.08). Balchem had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 11.37%. The company had revenue of $240.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.96 million. Equities research analysts expect that Balchem Co. will post 4.64 EPS for the current year.

About Balchem

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.