Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Takes Position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,561 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $417,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BCPC. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Balchem by 63.7% in the 4th quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 35,069 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,438,000 after acquiring an additional 13,642 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Balchem by 1.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 458,986 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $80,782,000 after purchasing an additional 7,721 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Balchem by 26.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,893 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,093,000 after purchasing an additional 2,467 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Balchem during the 4th quarter worth about $503,000. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Balchem by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 317,610 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $51,769,000 after buying an additional 16,170 shares during the last quarter. 87.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BCPC. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Balchem in a research note on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com lowered Balchem from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Sidoti raised shares of Balchem to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

Balchem Price Performance

Shares of Balchem stock traded down $1.44 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $172.59. The stock had a trading volume of 138,035 shares, compared to its average volume of 131,896. Balchem Co. has a twelve month low of $137.69 and a twelve month high of $186.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a PE ratio of 43.92, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.69. The stock's 50 day moving average is $162.41 and its 200 day moving average is $169.63.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.08). Balchem had a return on equity of 11.37% and a net margin of 13.47%. The business had revenue of $240.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.96 million. Equities analysts expect that Balchem Co. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Balchem Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This is a positive change from Balchem's previous annual dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.4%. Balchem's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.