DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Purchases 21,300 Shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC - Free Report) by 71.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,300 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 21,300 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned 0.16% of Balchem worth $7,662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in Balchem by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 28,640 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in Balchem by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 11,409 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,560,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in Balchem by 55.3% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 17,389 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,377,000 after purchasing an additional 6,189 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Balchem by 22.8% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 96,068 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $13,132,000 after purchasing an additional 17,824 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. grew its position in Balchem by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,890,972 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $668,595,000 after purchasing an additional 46,959 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.91% of the company's stock.

Balchem Stock Up 0.2 %

BCPC traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $149.30. 76,087 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 106,829. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.82 billion, a PE ratio of 44.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.61 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $152.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $138.50. Balchem Co. has a 1 year low of $110.74 and a 1 year high of $159.52.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 16th. The basic materials company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $234.66 million. Balchem had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 10.69%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Balchem Co. will post 4.14 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 value of $1,700,631.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,032,022.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 value of $1,086,330.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $917,793.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 11,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was 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 directly owns 6,736 shares in the company, valued at $1,032,022.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 76,630 shares of company stock valued at $11,843,249 in the last three months. 1.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.