81,958 Shares in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) Purchased by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 81,958 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $13,359,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.25% of Balchem at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC lifted its stake in Balchem by 63.7% during the fourth quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 35,069 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,438,000 after purchasing an additional 13,642 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Balchem by 1.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 458,986 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $80,782,000 after purchasing an additional 7,721 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in Balchem by 26.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,893 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,093,000 after purchasing an additional 2,467 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Balchem during the fourth quarter worth $503,000. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its stake in Balchem by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 317,610 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $51,769,000 after purchasing an additional 16,170 shares during the last quarter. 87.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Balchem in a research note on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com cut Balchem from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Sidoti upgraded Balchem to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

Balchem Stock Performance

BCPC stock traded down $2.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $161.17. The company had a trading volume of 758,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 113,548. 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 market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.01, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.63. Balchem Co. has a one year low of $137.69 and a one year high of $186.03. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $164.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.42.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 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 anticipate that Balchem Co. will post 4.64 EPS 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.