HighTower Advisors LLC Has $391,000 Stock Holdings in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 15.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,229 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Balchem were worth $391,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Balchem during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Balchem by 73.4% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 841 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $148,000 after acquiring an additional 356 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Balchem by 642.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 839 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $148,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Balchem in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $200,000. Finally, Heritage Family Offices LLP purchased a new position in Balchem during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $206,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Balchem Stock Down 0.6 %

BCPC stock opened at $165.49 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $174.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.82. The company has a market cap of $5.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.49, a PEG ratio of 5.32 and a beta of 0.67. Balchem Co. has a 12-month low of $135.84 and a 12-month high of $186.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Balchem Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a positive change from Balchem’s previous annual dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. Balchem’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.