Royal Bank of Canada Sells 5,448 Shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Royal Bank of Canada lessened its holdings in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 198,503 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 5,448 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.61% of Balchem worth $32,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BCPC. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Balchem by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 317,610 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $51,769,000 after buying an additional 16,170 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Balchem during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $503,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Balchem by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 370,912 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $60,457,000 after purchasing an additional 8,942 shares during the period. Tributary Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Balchem by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 136,255 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $22,209,000 after purchasing an additional 1,634 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Balchem by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 124,413 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $20,279,000 after purchasing an additional 25,560 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.91% of the company's stock.

Balchem Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of BCPC stock traded down $1.59 on Friday, reaching $165.96. 93,766 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 137,453. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $161.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.41 billion, a PE ratio of 42.23, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Balchem Co. has a 52 week low of $145.70 and a 52 week high of $186.03.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.25 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $250.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $245.70 million. Balchem had a return on equity of 11.37% and a net margin of 13.47%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Balchem Co. will post 4.64 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BCPC. Wall Street Zen downgraded Balchem from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Sidoti raised shares of Balchem to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, HC Wainwright set a $180.00 price target on shares of Balchem and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 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.