Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC Purchases 13,642 Shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC boosted its position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 63.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 35,069 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,642 shares during the quarter. Balchem makes up approximately 1.1% of Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC’s holdings in Balchem were worth $5,438,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Balchem by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,234,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $217,224,000 after acquiring an additional 12,006 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Balchem by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,175,569 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $206,900,000 after purchasing an additional 20,360 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Balchem by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 928,904 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $163,514,000 after purchasing an additional 27,979 shares during the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its position in Balchem by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 779,869 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $137,257,000 after purchasing an additional 12,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Balchem by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 697,461 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $107,372,000 after purchasing an additional 5,977 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Balchem Price Performance

NASDAQ:BCPC opened at $157.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 2.98. The company has a 50-day moving average of $172.98 and a 200-day moving average of $170.61. Balchem Co. has a 52 week low of $135.84 and a 52 week high of $186.03. The company has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.23, a PEG ratio of 5.32 and a beta of 0.69.

Balchem Increases Dividend

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

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.