Citigroup Inc. Has $2.55 Million Stock Position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC – Get Rating) by 35.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 5,425 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Balchem were worth $2,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Balchem by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,900,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $595,802,000 after buying an additional 83,220 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $469,545,000 after buying an additional 261,534 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Balchem by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,067,814 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $129,825,000 after buying an additional 17,532 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Balchem by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,040,578 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $127,065,000 after buying an additional 7,062 shares during the period. Finally, Geneva Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Balchem by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 750,324 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $91,622,000 after buying an additional 23,776 shares during the period. 89.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Balchem Price Performance

NASDAQ BCPC opened at $124.39 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Balchem Co. has a 12-month low of $110.15 and a 12-month high of $143.88. The company has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a PE ratio of 40.65 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $126.40 and its 200-day moving average is $129.68.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.70 earnings per share (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 last year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Balchem Co. will post 3.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David B. Fischer sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.01, for a total transaction of $381,030.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,269 shares in the company, valued at $2,193,335.69. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Balchem news, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 2,300 shares of Balchem stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 5,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $707,072.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $381,030.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,193,335.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BCPC. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Balchem in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. HC Wainwright lowered their price objective on shares of Balchem from $152.00 to $140.00 in a report on Monday, February 27th.

About Balchem

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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.