Montanaro Asset Management Ltd Sells 20,300 Shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Montanaro Asset Management Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 15.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 107,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 20,300 shares during the period. Balchem accounts for approximately 3.6% of Montanaro Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd owned approximately 0.33% of Balchem worth $17,522,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Balchem during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Balchem during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Balchem during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Balchem in the fourth quarter worth $95,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Balchem by 230.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 645 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Balchem Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of BCPC stock opened at $165.20 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $165.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.28. Balchem Co. has a fifty-two week low of $137.69 and a fifty-two week high of $186.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.63.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last released its earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $239.96 million. Balchem had a return on equity of 11.37% and a net margin of 13.47%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Balchem Co. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.