New York State Teachers Retirement System Reduces Holdings in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its stake in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC - Free Report) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 46,899 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 2,300 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.14% of Balchem worth $7,644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Balchem by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 67,362 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $10,980,000 after purchasing an additional 3,110 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Balchem by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 92,796 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $15,125,000 after purchasing an additional 1,822 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Balchem in the 4th quarter valued at $689,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Balchem in the 4th quarter valued at $503,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Balchem in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 87.91% of the company's stock.

Balchem Trading Up 1.5 %

BCPC traded up $2.38 during trading on Friday, hitting $163.72. 194,105 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 117,753. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $162.20 and a 200 day moving average of $169.34. Balchem Co. has a 12-month low of $137.69 and a 12-month high of $186.03.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $240.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $239.96 million. Balchem had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 10.99%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Balchem Co. will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

Balchem Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Balchem's previous annual dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Balchem's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BCPC. StockNews.com raised shares of Balchem from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Balchem from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th.

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.