Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) Hits New 1-Year High at $160.00

Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $160.00 and last traded at $159.20, with a volume of 14959 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $158.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Balchem from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Balchem from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th.

Balchem Stock Up 0.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $151.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $149.37.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The basic materials company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.05). Balchem had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 12.35%. The business had revenue of $239.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $234.12 million. On average, analysts predict that Balchem Co. will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Balchem

In related news, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 1,929 shares of Balchem stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.45, for a total transaction of $297,934.05. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $753,407.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director David B. Fischer sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.98, for a total value of $764,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,378,196.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 1,929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.45, for a total value of $297,934.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,878 shares in the company, valued at $753,407.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Balchem

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. APG Asset Management US Inc. acquired a new position in Balchem during the 4th quarter worth about $39,164,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Balchem by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,791,512 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $563,987,000 after purchasing an additional 30,868 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Balchem by 7.7% during the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 258,116 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $39,995,000 after purchasing an additional 18,459 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Balchem in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $226,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in Balchem by 71.0% in the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 51,300 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,662,000 after purchasing an additional 21,300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

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.