Everence Capital Management Inc. Sells 720 Shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Everence Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 12.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,840 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 720 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Balchem were worth $789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in Balchem by 26.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,893 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,093,000 after buying an additional 2,467 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Balchem by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 458,986 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $80,782,000 after acquiring an additional 7,721 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Balchem by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 928,904 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $163,514,000 after acquiring an additional 27,979 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Balchem by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 233,831 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,998,000 after acquiring an additional 18,104 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Balchem by 22.1% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,582 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,169,000 after purchasing an additional 3,732 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Balchem Stock Up 0.3 %

BCPC stock opened at $159.08 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $173.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.51. Balchem Co. has a twelve month low of $135.84 and a twelve month high of $186.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a PE ratio of 42.76, a PEG ratio of 5.32 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Balchem Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. This represents a yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Balchem’s previous annual dividend of $0.79. Balchem’s payout ratio is currently 23.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BCPC shares. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on shares of Balchem from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Balchem from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th.

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.