Great West Life Assurance Co. Can Takes Position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Great West Life Assurance Co. Can bought a new stake in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC – Get Rating) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 39,257 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,779,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Balchem by 1.0% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,890,972 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $668,595,000 after purchasing an additional 46,959 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Balchem by 0.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,050,282 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $136,264,000 after acquiring an additional 3,778 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Balchem by 2.6% during the third quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,033,516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $125,655,000 after acquiring an additional 26,163 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Balchem by 7.4% during the second quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 696,285 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $90,336,000 after acquiring an additional 48,041 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Balchem by 0.3% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 503,403 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $68,815,000 after acquiring an additional 1,409 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.29% of the company’s stock.

Balchem Stock Up 1.3 %

BCPC opened at $125.72 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $130.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.59. The company has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.53 and a beta of 0.67. Balchem Co. has a one year low of $110.15 and a one year high of $151.71.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $244.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $241.00 million. Balchem had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 11.80%. Analysts anticipate that Balchem Co. will post 3.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Balchem Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 27th were given a $0.71 dividend. This is an increase from Balchem’s previous annual dividend of $0.64. This represents a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 23rd. Balchem’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BCPC shares. StockNews.com started coverage on Balchem in a report on Wednesday, October 12th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. HC Wainwright dropped their price objective on Balchem from $164.00 to $152.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 7th.

About Balchem

(Get Rating)

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 in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Human Nutrition & Health, Animal Nutrition & Health, and Specialty Products.