Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. Has $6.58 Million Stake in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. raised its holdings in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 44,255 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,402 shares during the quarter. Balchem comprises 1.8% of Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc.’s holdings in Balchem were worth $6,583,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Balchem by 123.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 165 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Balchem during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Balchem during the fourth quarter worth $56,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Balchem by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 953 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bill Few Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Balchem during the 4th quarter worth about $212,000. 87.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Balchem from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st.

Insider Activity at Balchem

In other Balchem news, CAO William A. Backus sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.19, for a total transaction of $1,086,330.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,914 shares in the company, valued at $917,793.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CAO William A. Backus sold 9,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.37, for a total value of $1,435,476.60. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,019,362.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO William A. Backus sold 7,000 shares of Balchem stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.19, for a total transaction of $1,086,330.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,914 shares in the company, valued at $917,793.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 76,630 shares of company stock valued at $11,843,249 over the last quarter. 1.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Balchem Stock Performance

BCPC traded up $1.35 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $145.07. The stock had a trading volume of 70,624 shares, compared to its average volume of 104,036. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $152.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $139.71. Balchem Co. has a one year low of $110.74 and a one year high of $159.52.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The basic materials company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.02. Balchem had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 10.69%. The company had revenue of $228.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $234.66 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. Balchem’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Balchem Co. will post 4.14 EPS for the current year.

Balchem Company Profile

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.