Strs Ohio Trims Position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Strs Ohio lessened its holdings in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 30.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 12,600 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio owned approximately 0.09% of Balchem worth $4,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Balchem in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Balchem in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Gyon Technologies Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Balchem in the 4th quarter worth $56,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Balchem in the 1st quarter worth $67,000. Finally, Point72 Middle East FZE purchased a new position in shares of Balchem in the 4th quarter worth $84,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Balchem

In other news, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 11,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.21, for a total transaction of $1,700,631.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,736 shares in the company, valued at $1,032,022.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Michael Robert Sestrick sold 11,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.21, for a total transaction of $1,700,631.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,736 shares in the company, valued at $1,032,022.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Theodore L. Harris sold 34,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.29, for a total value of $5,299,861.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 66,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,246,707.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 76,630 shares of company stock valued at $11,843,249 over the last three months. 1.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Balchem Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:BCPC opened at $143.12 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $152.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Balchem Co. has a 12 month low of $110.74 and a 12 month high of $159.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion, a PE ratio of 42.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.71.

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 analyst estimates of $234.66 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Balchem Co. will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.