Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) Shares Sold by Wendell David Associates Inc.

Wendell David Associates Inc. trimmed its position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,577 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the period. Wendell David Associates Inc.’s holdings in Balchem were worth $3,191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Balchem by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,234,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $217,224,000 after buying an additional 12,006 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Balchem by 1.8% during the third quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,175,569 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $206,900,000 after purchasing an additional 20,360 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Balchem by 3.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 928,904 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $163,514,000 after buying an additional 27,979 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Balchem by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 779,869 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $137,257,000 after acquiring an additional 12,750 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Balchem by 944.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 497,495 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $87,559,000 after purchasing an additional 449,854 shares in the last quarter. 87.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BCPC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of Balchem from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Balchem from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th.

Balchem Stock Down 0.6 %

BCPC opened at $162.10 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a PE ratio of 43.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a 50-day moving average of $169.56 and a 200-day moving average of $170.89. 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 0.21, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

Balchem Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is an increase from Balchem’s previous annual dividend of $0.79. Balchem’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.39%.

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.