Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) Shares Sold by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC reduced its position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC – Get Rating) by 36.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,603 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,409 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Balchem were worth $928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in shares of Balchem by 1.7% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,900,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $595,802,000 after buying an additional 83,220 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Balchem by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,862,027 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $469,545,000 after acquiring an additional 261,534 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Balchem by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,067,814 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $129,825,000 after acquiring an additional 17,532 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Balchem by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,040,578 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $127,065,000 after acquiring an additional 7,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneva Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Balchem by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 750,324 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $91,622,000 after purchasing an additional 23,776 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on BCPC. StockNews.com started coverage on Balchem in a report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. HC Wainwright reduced their price target on Balchem from $152.00 to $140.00 in a report on Monday, February 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Balchem news, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.36, for a total transaction of $299,828.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $707,072.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director David B. Fischer sold 3,000 shares of Balchem stock in a transaction on Monday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.01, for a total value of $381,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,193,335.69. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.36, for a total value of $299,828.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,424 shares in the company, valued at approximately $707,072.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Balchem Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BCPC opened at $124.17 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $126.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $129.83. Balchem Co. has a 1-year low of $110.15 and a 1-year high of $143.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 1.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.58 and a beta of 0.70.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $232.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $232.00 million. Balchem had a net margin of 10.48% and a return on equity of 10.69%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Balchem Co. will post 3.6 EPS for the current year.

Balchem Company Profile

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Balchem Corp. provides marketing of specialty performance ingredients and products. It operates through the following segments: Human Nutrition and Health, Animal Nutrition and Health, Specialty Products and Industrial Products. The Human Nutrition and Health segment supplies ingredients in the food and beverage industry, providing customized solutions in powder, solid and liquid flavor delivery systems, spray dried emulsified powder systems, and cereal systems.