Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 5,639 Shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 164,915 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,639 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.51% of Balchem worth $26,880,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Heritage Family Offices LLP raised its stake in shares of Balchem by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 1,420 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Balchem by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,462 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Balchem in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. SageView Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Balchem by 3.8% in the third quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,653 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $819,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Balchem by 12.5% in the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Balchem Price Performance

BCPC opened at $163.72 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $162.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 2.98. Balchem Co. has a 52 week low of $137.69 and a 52 week high of $186.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a PE ratio of 44.01, a P/E/G ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.69.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last released 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). Balchem had a return on equity of 10.99% and a net margin of 12.90%. The business had revenue of $240.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.96 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Balchem Co. will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Balchem Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on BCPC shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Balchem from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. HC Wainwright raised their price target on shares of Balchem from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th.

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.