Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Boosts Position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 186.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,141 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,553 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Balchem were worth $2,142,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC raised its holdings in Balchem by 63.7% in the 4th quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 35,069 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,438,000 after purchasing an additional 13,642 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Balchem by 1.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 458,986 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $80,782,000 after buying an additional 7,721 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in Balchem by 26.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,893 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,093,000 after buying an additional 2,467 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Balchem in the fourth quarter worth about $503,000. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its position in Balchem by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 317,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $51,769,000 after acquiring an additional 16,170 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BCPC shares. Sidoti raised Balchem to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Balchem in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday.

Balchem Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BCPC opened at $174.03 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.48. Balchem Co. has a fifty-two week low of $137.69 and a fifty-two week high of $186.03. The company has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.28, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.99.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.08). Balchem had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 11.37%. The company had revenue of $240.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.96 million. Analysts expect that Balchem Co. will post 4.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Balchem Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This is a positive change from Balchem’s previous annual dividend of $0.79. Balchem’s payout ratio is currently 22.14%.

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.