Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) Shares Acquired by Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd.

Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 25.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,109 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,457 shares during the period. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. owned about 0.05% of Balchem worth $2,789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BCPC. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of Balchem by 63.7% during the fourth 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. grew its stake in shares of Balchem by 1.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 458,986 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $80,782,000 after acquiring an additional 7,721 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Balchem by 26.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,893 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,093,000 after acquiring an additional 2,467 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Balchem in the fourth quarter valued at $503,000. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings in Balchem by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 317,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $51,769,000 after purchasing an additional 16,170 shares during the period. 87.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Balchem Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BCPC opened at $175.69 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $162.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a PE ratio of 44.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.69. Balchem Co. has a fifty-two week low of $137.69 and a fifty-two week high of $186.03. 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 issued its earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.96 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Balchem Co. will post 4.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Balchem Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Balchem in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Sidoti upgraded shares of Balchem to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 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.