Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 4,311 Shares of Balchem Corporation (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Balchem Corporation (NASDAQ:BCPC - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 169,226 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,311 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.52% of Balchem worth $28,092,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Balchem by 93.8% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 157 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Balchem during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Balchem by 534.2% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 241 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in shares of Balchem by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 661 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Balchem during the 4th quarter worth $123,000. 87.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Balchem Price Performance

BCPC stock traded down $3.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $158.44. 102,904 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 143,697. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.89. Balchem Corporation has a 52-week low of $145.70 and a 52-week high of $186.03. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $163.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $162.99.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $250.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $245.70 million. Balchem had a net margin of 14.16% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Balchem Corporation will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BCPC shares. HC Wainwright set a $180.00 price objective on Balchem and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered Balchem from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st.

Balchem 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.