Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Has $161.13 Million Stock Position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC - Free Report) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,083,212 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,885 shares during the period. Balchem makes up approximately 2.4% of Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC owned 3.36% of Balchem worth $161,128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Balchem by 0.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 12,791 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in Balchem by 5.2% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 1,808 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Balchem by 3.0% in the first quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,108 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $393,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Balchem by 4.6% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,125 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Balchem by 2.1% in the third quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,814 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $597,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. 87.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Balchem from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO William A. Backus sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.19, for a total transaction of $1,086,330.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,914 shares in the company, valued at $917,793.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO William A. Backus sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.19, for a total transaction of $1,086,330.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,914 shares in the company, valued at $917,793.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 11,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.21, for a total transaction of $1,700,631.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,736 shares in the company, valued at $1,032,022.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 76,630 shares of company stock worth $11,843,249. 1.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Balchem Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BCPC traded down $4.57 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $148.99. The company had a trading volume of 88,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 107,273. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.43. Balchem Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.74 and a fifty-two week high of $159.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.61 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The basic materials company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $228.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $234.66 million. Balchem had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 10.69%. Balchem's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Balchem Co. will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

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.