Van ECK Associates Corp Cuts Position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Van ECK Associates Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,897 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 5,567 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.20% of Balchem worth $9,802,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCPC. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Balchem by 123.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 165 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Balchem in the third quarter valued at $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Balchem during the 4th quarter worth about $56,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Balchem by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 953 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bill Few Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Balchem during the 4th quarter worth about $212,000. 87.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Balchem Stock Performance

NASDAQ BCPC traded up $4.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $150.40. The company had a trading volume of 102,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 104,956. The business has a 50 day moving average of $151.15 and a 200-day moving average of $140.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.12. Balchem Co. has a 1-year low of $110.74 and a 1-year high of $159.52. The company has a market cap of $4.88 billion, a PE ratio of 43.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.72.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Balchem had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 11.77%. The firm had revenue of $228.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $234.66 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Balchem Co. will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Balchem news, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 11,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 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 at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 11,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,736 shares in the company, valued at $1,032,022.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO William A. Backus sold 7,000 shares of Balchem stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,914 shares in the company, valued at $917,793.66. 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 ninety days. 1.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Balchem from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th.

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.