Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Purchases 1,143 Shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 46,058 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,143 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Balchem were worth $6,851,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCPC. Cardinal Capital Management boosted its position in Balchem by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 19,539 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,922,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Balchem by 123.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 165 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Balchem by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,814 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $597,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Balchem by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 14,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisor Partners II LLC increased its position in shares of Balchem by 5.8% during the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 2,124 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. 87.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO William A. Backus sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,183.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 11,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.21, for a total transaction of $1,700,631.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO William A. Backus sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were 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 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. Company insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

Balchem Trading Up 0.5 %

BCPC traded up $0.76 during trading on Friday, hitting $139.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 58,508 shares, compared to its average volume of 103,753. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.34, a PEG ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.71. Balchem Co. has a twelve month low of $110.74 and a twelve month high of $159.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $152.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.84.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Balchem Profile

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.