IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Decreases Stock Position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd reduced its position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC - Free Report) by 12.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,966 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 2,258 shares during the period. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd's holdings in Balchem were worth $2,602,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Balchem by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 509,490 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $83,044,000 after acquiring an additional 50,504 shares during the last quarter. Summitry LLC boosted its holdings in Balchem by 41.2% in the fourth quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 1,687 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its position in Balchem by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 36,616 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,968,000 after purchasing an additional 2,865 shares during the period. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its stake in Balchem by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 50,711 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $8,266,000 after buying an additional 2,393 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Balchem by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,961,487 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $645,703,000 after buying an additional 42,693 shares during the period. 87.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on BCPC. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Balchem in a report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Balchem from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Sidoti upgraded shares of Balchem to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th.

Balchem Stock Performance

NASDAQ BCPC traded up $0.71 on Monday, hitting $164.50. 70,352 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 121,910. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $165.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.28. The company has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.97, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.63. Balchem Co. has a 52-week low of $137.69 and a 52-week high of $186.03.

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

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.