Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Takes $531,000 Position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,448 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $531,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Balchem during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Balchem by 568.9% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 301 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Balchem in the 1st quarter valued at $69,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Balchem by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 473 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in Balchem during the 2nd quarter worth $200,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BCPC has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on Balchem from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Balchem

In related news, SVP Gunsteren Job Leonard Van sold 7,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.05, for a total value of $1,395,387.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,537,627. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Balchem Trading Up 2.2 %

NASDAQ:BCPC opened at $171.82 on Friday. Balchem Co. has a 1 year low of $110.74 and a 1 year high of $186.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $170.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $158.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.54, a PEG ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.65.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The basic materials company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $234.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $241.26 million. Balchem had a net margin of 12.52% and a return on equity of 10.94%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Balchem Co. will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.