Handelsbanken Fonder AB Acquires 900 Shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 15.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Balchem were worth $974,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BCPC. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Balchem by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 121,530 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $15,075,000 after purchasing an additional 7,973 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake 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 worth $7,662,000 after acquiring an additional 21,300 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Balchem during the third quarter valued at $465,000. Congress Asset Management Co. MA raised its position in shares of Balchem by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 225,303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,947,000 after purchasing an additional 55,203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in Balchem by 81.3% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 13,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,613,000 after purchasing an additional 5,829 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday.

Insider Transactions at Balchem

In related news, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 11,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.21, for a total value of $1,700,631.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,736 shares in the company, valued at $1,032,022.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Balchem news, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 11,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.21, for a total value of $1,700,631.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,032,022.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO William A. Backus sold 7,000 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $917,793.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 76,630 shares of company stock worth $11,843,249 over the last three months. 1.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Balchem Stock Performance

Shares of BCPC opened at $139.26 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $152.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $140.04. Balchem Co. has a 12 month low of $110.74 and a 12 month 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.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 16th. The basic materials company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $234.66 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. Balchem’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Balchem Co. will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.