Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $26.88 Million Stock Position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 164,915 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,639 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Balchem were worth $26,880,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BCPC. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Balchem by 33.4% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 9,777 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,721,000 after buying an additional 2,449 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Balchem by 642.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 839 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $148,000 after buying an additional 726 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Balchem by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 54,089 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,520,000 after buying an additional 3,741 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Balchem by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 90,974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $16,011,000 after buying an additional 5,550 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Balchem in the 3rd quarter valued at $220,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Balchem Trading Up 1.5 %

BCPC opened at $163.72 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.01, a P/E/G ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.69. Balchem Co. has a 12 month low of $137.69 and a 12 month high of $186.03. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $162.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.34. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.08). Balchem had a net margin of 12.90% and a return on equity of 10.99%. The company had revenue of $240.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.96 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Balchem Co. will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Balchem Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This is a boost from Balchem’s previous annual dividend of $0.79. This represents a yield of 0.4%. Balchem’s payout ratio is 23.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BCPC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Balchem from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Balchem from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th.

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.