Geneva Capital Management LLC Boosts Position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Geneva Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 819,746 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 39,877 shares during the period. Balchem makes up about 2.3% of Geneva Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Geneva Capital Management LLC owned 2.52% of Balchem worth $133,615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BCPC. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in Balchem in the third quarter valued at approximately $220,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Balchem by 16.3% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,186 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $913,000 after acquiring an additional 728 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Balchem in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,201,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc grew its position in shares of Balchem by 8.5% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,708 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $477,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BCPC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Sidoti raised shares of Balchem to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Balchem in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th.

Balchem Stock Up 2.2 %

BCPC stock opened at $174.43 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.38, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Balchem Co. has a twelve month low of $137.69 and a twelve month high of $186.03.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $240.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.96 million. Balchem had a return on equity of 11.37% and a net margin of 13.47%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Balchem Co. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Balchem Increases Dividend

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

Balchem 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.