Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Buys 8,553 Shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 186.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,141 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 8,553 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Balchem were worth $2,142,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in Balchem in the third quarter valued at $220,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Balchem by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 1,589 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Balchem by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,175,569 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $206,900,000 after purchasing an additional 20,360 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Balchem by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,186 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $913,000 after buying an additional 728 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in Balchem by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Balchem Price Performance

BCPC opened at $174.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $162.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.48. The firm has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.28, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.69. Balchem Co. has a 1 year low of $137.69 and a 1 year high of $186.03.

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

Balchem Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $0.87 dividend. This is a boost from Balchem’s previous annual dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.4%. Balchem’s payout ratio is presently 22.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BCPC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Sidoti raised shares of Balchem to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Balchem in a research report on Monday, February 24th.

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.