Norden Group LLC Takes $430,000 Position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,772 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $430,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Balchem in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Balchem in the fourth quarter worth $56,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Balchem in the first quarter worth $69,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Balchem by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 953 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Balchem

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Balchem from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on Balchem from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th.

Balchem Stock Up 0.9 %

BCPC stock opened at $164.40 on Friday. Balchem Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.74 and a fifty-two week high of $168.04. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $154.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $150.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 2.61. The company has a market capitalization of $5.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.68.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The basic materials company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts forecast that Balchem Co. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.