Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 7,148 Shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC - Free Report) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,668 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 7,148 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.25% of Balchem worth $12,148,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Balchem by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,805 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,202,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of Balchem by 71.0% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 51,300 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $7,662,000 after purchasing an additional 21,300 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Balchem by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 953 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Balchem in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $556,000. Finally, Bill Few Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Balchem in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Transactions at Balchem

In other news, CAO William A. Backus sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.19, for a total transaction of $1,086,330.00. Following the completion of 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 SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CAO William A. Backus sold 7,000 shares of Balchem stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.19, for a total value of $1,086,330.00. Following the completion of 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO William A. Backus sold 15,000 shares of Balchem stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.73, for a total value of $2,320,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,998,183.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 76,630 shares of company stock worth $11,843,249 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.77% of the company's stock.

Balchem Trading Down 0.8 %

Balchem stock traded down $1.14 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $145.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 64,914 shares, compared to its average volume of 105,451. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a PE ratio of 43.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.71. Balchem Co. has a 1 year low of $110.74 and a 1 year high of $159.52. The company has a current ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock's fifty day moving average is $152.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.16.

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

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.