Duality Advisers LP Trims Stock Position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Duality Advisers LP cut its holdings in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 10.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,762 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 215 shares during the quarter. Duality Advisers LP’s holdings in Balchem were worth $262,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of Balchem by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 6,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $974,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Balchem by 123.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 165 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Balchem by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 7,970 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,186,000 after buying an additional 1,309 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Balchem by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 18,836 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,802,000 after buying an additional 3,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Balchem in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,395,000. 87.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Balchem Price Performance

Shares of BCPC opened at $139.26 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.57, a PEG ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $152.25 and a 200-day moving average of $139.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Balchem Co. has a 52 week low of $110.74 and a 52 week high of $159.52.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO William A. Backus sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.73, for a total transaction of $2,320,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,183.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CAO William A. Backus sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.73, for a total transaction of $2,320,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,998,183.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO William A. Backus sold 9,180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.37, for a total value of $1,435,476.60. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,019,362.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 76,630 shares of company stock worth $11,843,249 in the last three months. 1.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday.

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.