Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) Position Reduced by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its stake in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 103,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 17,573 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.32% of Balchem worth $18,130,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Argent Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Balchem by 15.3% in the third quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 4,185 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $737,000 after buying an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Balchem in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Balchem by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 90,974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $16,011,000 after acquiring an additional 5,550 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in Balchem by 7.4% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 54,089 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,520,000 after purchasing an additional 3,741 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Balchem by 642.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 839 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright raised their price target on shares of Balchem from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th.

Balchem Trading Up 3.2 %

NASDAQ:BCPC opened at $171.46 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.44, a P/E/G ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $171.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $162.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.79. Balchem Co. has a 12-month low of $110.74 and a 12-month high of $186.03.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 25th. The basic materials company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.03. The company had revenue of $239.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $243.05 million. Balchem had a net margin of 12.52% and a return on equity of 10.94%. Equities research analysts predict that Balchem Co. will post 3.96 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Gunsteren Job Leonard Van sold 7,750 shares of Balchem stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.05, for a total transaction of $1,395,387.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,537,627. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.