Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 7,086 Shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 4.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 159,276 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 7,086 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.49% of Balchem worth $28,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Balchem by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,935,935 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $609,873,000 after buying an additional 144,423 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Balchem by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,175,569 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $206,900,000 after buying an additional 20,360 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Balchem by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 697,461 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $107,372,000 after buying an additional 5,977 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Balchem by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 301,440 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $53,053,000 after purchasing an additional 33,373 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Balchem by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 277,475 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $42,717,000 after purchasing an additional 3,279 shares during the last quarter. 87.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BCPC has been the topic of several recent research reports. HC Wainwright raised their price target on Balchem from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Balchem from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th.

Balchem Stock Performance

Shares of Balchem stock opened at $178.33 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.80 billion, a PE ratio of 47.94, a PEG ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.65. Balchem Co. has a 12 month low of $117.10 and a 12 month high of $186.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $172.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $164.99.

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.