Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $1.68 Million Stake in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,618 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Balchem were worth $1,684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BCPC. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Balchem by 123.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 165 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Balchem in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Balchem in the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Balchem by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 953 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Balchem during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $209,000. 87.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on BCPC. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on Balchem from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Balchem from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th.

Balchem Trading Down 0.9 %

BCPC stock traded down $1.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $158.37. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 102,164. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $152.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $149.51. The stock has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a PE ratio of 45.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.68. Balchem Co. has a 52 week low of $110.74 and a 52 week high of $160.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The basic materials company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.05). Balchem had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 12.35%. The company had revenue of $239.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $234.12 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Balchem Co. will post 3.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Balchem

In related news, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 1,929 shares of Balchem stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.45, for a total transaction of $297,934.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $753,407.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director David B. Fischer sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.98, for a total transaction of $764,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,378,196.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 1,929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.45, for a total transaction of $297,934.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $753,407.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.25% of the company’s stock.

Balchem Company 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.