Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes Position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 16,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,395,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Balchem by 7.0% in the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 121,530 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $15,075,000 after acquiring an additional 7,973 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in Balchem by 71.0% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 51,300 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,662,000 after purchasing an additional 21,300 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in Balchem in the third quarter worth $465,000. Congress Asset Management Co. MA boosted its stake in Balchem by 32.5% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 225,303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,947,000 after purchasing an additional 55,203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in Balchem by 81.3% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 13,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,613,000 after purchasing an additional 5,829 shares in the last quarter. 87.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 11,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.21, for a total transaction of $1,700,631.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,032,022.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Balchem news, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 11,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.21, for a total value of $1,700,631.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,032,022.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Theodore L. Harris sold 34,350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.29, for a total value of $5,299,861.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 66,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,246,707.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 76,630 shares of company stock valued at $11,843,249 over the last 90 days. 1.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Balchem Price Performance

Balchem stock opened at $145.62 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.12. The firm has a market cap of $4.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.47, a P/E/G ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s fifty day moving average is $152.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.16. Balchem Co. has a 52 week low of $110.74 and a 52 week high of $159.52.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The basic materials company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.02. Balchem had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 11.77%. The business had revenue of $228.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $234.66 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Balchem Co. will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised Balchem from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st.

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.