Insider Selling: Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) SVP Sells 7,750 Shares of Stock

Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) SVP Gunsteren Job Leonard Van sold 7,750 shares of Balchem stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.05, for a total value of $1,395,387.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,540 shares in the company, valued at $1,537,627. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Balchem Trading Down 2.6 %

Balchem stock opened at $171.47 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.68. Balchem Co. has a 1 year low of $110.74 and a 1 year high of $186.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $161.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.83.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The basic materials company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.05). Balchem had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 12.52%. The company had revenue of $239.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $234.12 million. On average, research analysts predict that Balchem Co. will post 3.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Balchem

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BCPC. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Balchem by 123.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 165 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Balchem during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Balchem by 568.9% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 301 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Balchem in the fourth quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Balchem in the first quarter worth $69,000. 87.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BCPC. StockNews.com cut Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of Balchem from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st.

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.