Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC cut its stake in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,617 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 844 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Balchem were worth $836,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BCPC. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Balchem in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Balchem during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Gyon Technologies Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Balchem during the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Balchem in the 1st quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, Point72 Middle East FZE acquired a new position in Balchem in the 4th quarter valued at about $84,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Balchem Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BCPC opened at $146.76 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.81, a PEG ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.71. Balchem Co. has a 12-month low of $110.74 and a 12-month high of $159.52. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $152.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.01. The company has a current ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The basic materials company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.02. Balchem had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 10.69%. The business had revenue of $228.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $234.66 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Balchem Co. will post 4.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Balchem

In other Balchem news, CAO William A. Backus sold 7,000 shares of the company’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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Balchem 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 transaction of $1,086,330.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,914 shares in the company, valued at $917,793.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO William A. Backus sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.73, for a total transaction of $2,320,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,183.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 76,630 shares of company stock worth $11,843,249. Insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

Balchem 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.