Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC Makes New $3.64 Million Investment in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 21,427 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,639,000. Balchem makes up approximately 0.8% of Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Balchem at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Balchem by 3.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,935,935 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $609,873,000 after buying an additional 144,423 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Balchem by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,155,209 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $177,844,000 after acquiring an additional 29,825 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Balchem by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 697,461 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $107,372,000 after acquiring an additional 5,977 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Balchem by 1.2% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 277,475 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $42,717,000 after purchasing an additional 3,279 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. MA lifted its stake in 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 worth $39,995,000 after purchasing an additional 18,459 shares during the last quarter. 87.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BCPC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on shares of Balchem from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th.

Balchem Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ BCPC opened at $170.18 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $170.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.91. The stock has a market cap of $5.52 billion, a PE ratio of 47.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Balchem Co. has a 52-week low of $110.74 and a 52-week high of $186.03.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The basic materials company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $234.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $241.26 million. Balchem had a net margin of 12.52% and a return on equity of 10.94%. Equities research analysts forecast that Balchem Co. will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Balchem news, SVP Gunsteren Job Leonard Van sold 7,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.05, for a total transaction of $1,395,387.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,537,627. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.25% 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.