Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 42,693 Shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,961,487 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 42,693 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.19% of Balchem worth $645,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Balchem in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Balchem in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Balchem during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Balchem in the fourth quarter worth $95,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Balchem by 230.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 645 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. 87.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BCPC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Sidoti upgraded shares of Balchem to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Balchem in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Balchem from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th.

Remove Ads

Balchem Stock Performance

NASDAQ BCPC traded down $4.42 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $155.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 229,987 shares, compared to its average volume of 124,047. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.63. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $165.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.04. Balchem Co. has a 12 month low of $137.69 and a 12 month high of $186.03.

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