Verition Fund Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Verition Fund Management LLC lowered its stake in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC - Free Report) by 73.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,721 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,729 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC's holdings in Balchem were worth $303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Balchem by 944.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 497,495 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $87,559,000 after purchasing an additional 449,854 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Balchem by 129.7% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 98,853 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $17,398,000 after buying an additional 55,822 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Balchem by 12.4% during the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 301,440 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $53,053,000 after buying an additional 33,373 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Balchem by 2.7% during the second quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,155,209 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $177,844,000 after acquiring an additional 29,825 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Balchem in the third quarter worth $4,201,000. Institutional investors own 87.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BCPC has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Balchem from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. HC Wainwright increased their price target on shares of Balchem from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th.

Balchem Stock Down 0.9 %

BCPC stock traded down $1.52 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $175.73. The stock had a trading volume of 145,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 109,839. The business has a 50-day moving average of $175.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.13. 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 market cap of $5.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.32 and a beta of 0.67. Balchem Co. has a 52-week low of $135.84 and a 52-week high of $186.03.

Balchem Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a positive change from Balchem's previous annual dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. Balchem's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.75%.

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.