IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Lowers Position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC - Free Report) by 20.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,224 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,557 shares during the period. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd owned 0.06% of Balchem worth $3,207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BCPC. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Balchem by 568.9% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 301 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Balchem by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 473 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Balchem in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $200,000. Heritage Family Offices LLP bought a new position in shares of Balchem in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $206,000. Finally, Sage Rhino Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Balchem in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $207,000. Institutional investors own 87.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BCPC has been the subject of several research reports. HC Wainwright increased their target price on Balchem from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com lowered Balchem from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th.

Balchem Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Balchem stock traded down $1.75 on Thursday, reaching $172.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 50,604 shares, compared to its average volume of 106,595. The company has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.60, a P/E/G ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 0.65. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $171.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $161.47. Balchem Co. has a 52 week low of $110.74 and a 52 week high of $186.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The basic materials company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $234.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $241.26 million. Balchem had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 12.52%. Equities analysts anticipate that Balchem Co. will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Balchem

In other news, SVP Gunsteren Job Leonard Van sold 7,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.05, for a total value of $1,395,387.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,540 shares in the company, valued at $1,537,627. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.25% 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.