Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 103,171 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,529 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.32% of Balchem worth $16,816,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Balchem by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 5,102 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $832,000 after buying an additional 703 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Balchem during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,345,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Balchem in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $70,165,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Balchem by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 509,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $83,044,000 after purchasing an additional 50,504 shares during the period. Finally, Summitry LLC grew its position in Balchem by 41.2% during the 4th quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 1,687 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BCPC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Balchem in a report on Monday, February 24th. Sidoti upgraded Balchem to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th.

Balchem Trading Down 2.8 %

Balchem stock opened at $155.78 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Balchem Co. has a 12 month low of $137.69 and a 12 month high of $186.03. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $165.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.04. The stock has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.63.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $240.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.96 million. Balchem had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 11.37%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Balchem Co. will post 4.64 EPS 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.