Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) Shares Sold by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers lowered its position in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 87,249 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 3,111 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.27% of Balchem worth $14,221,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 13,642 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Balchem by 1.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 458,986 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $80,782,000 after purchasing an additional 7,721 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Balchem by 26.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,893 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,093,000 after buying an additional 2,467 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Balchem in the 4th quarter worth approximately $503,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Balchem by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 928,904 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $163,514,000 after purchasing an additional 27,979 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCPC has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Balchem from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Balchem in a research note on Monday.

Balchem Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of BCPC traded up $0.64 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $174.23. The company had a trading volume of 47,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 127,928. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.44. The stock has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a PE ratio of 44.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Balchem Co. has a 1-year low of $137.69 and a 1-year high of $186.03.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 11.37% and a net margin of 13.47%. The company had revenue of $240.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $239.96 million. Research analysts forecast that Balchem Co. will post 4.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Balchem Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $0.87 dividend. This is a boost from Balchem's previous annual dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.4%. Balchem's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.14%.

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.