Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC - Free Report) by 186.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,141 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 8,553 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC's holdings in Balchem were worth $2,142,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Balchem by 944.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 497,495 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $87,559,000 after purchasing an additional 449,854 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Balchem by 129.7% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 98,853 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $17,398,000 after buying an additional 55,822 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Balchem by 405.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 60,777 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $10,695,000 after buying an additional 48,762 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Balchem by 3.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 928,904 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $163,514,000 after acquiring an additional 27,979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp bought a new stake in Balchem during the third quarter worth about $4,201,000. Institutional investors own 87.91% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research analysts have weighed in on BCPC shares. Sidoti upgraded Balchem to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Balchem in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Balchem from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.
Read Our Latest Report on Balchem
Balchem Stock Performance
NASDAQ:BCPC traded down $1.44 on Monday, hitting $172.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 138,035 shares, compared to its average volume of 131,896. 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 one year low of $137.69 and a one year high of $186.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $162.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.69.
Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $240.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.96 million. Balchem had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 11.37%. Research analysts predict that Balchem Co. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current year.
Balchem Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This is an increase from Balchem's previous annual dividend of $0.79. This represents a yield of 0.4%. Balchem's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.14%.
Balchem Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
Before you consider Balchem, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Balchem wasn't on the list.
While Balchem currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
MarketBeat just released its list of 10 cheap stocks that have been overlooked by the market and may be seriously undervalued. Enter your email address and below to see which companies made the list.
Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.
