Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) Holdings Lifted by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC - Free Report) by 16.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 274,545 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 38,806 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.84% of Balchem worth $44,749,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BCPC. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Balchem by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,234,226 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $217,224,000 after buying an additional 12,006 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Balchem by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 928,904 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $163,514,000 after purchasing an additional 27,979 shares in the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its position in Balchem by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 819,746 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $133,615,000 after buying an additional 39,877 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Balchem by 944.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 497,495 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $87,559,000 after purchasing an additional 449,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Balchem by 1.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 458,986 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $80,782,000 after buying an additional 7,721 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.91% of the company's stock.

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Balchem Trading Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ:BCPC traded down $2.23 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $161.17. 758,211 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 150,796. The firm has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.01, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.54. Balchem Co. has a 52-week low of $137.69 and a 52-week high of $186.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $240.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.96 million. Balchem had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 11.37%. As a group, analysts predict that Balchem Co. will post 4.64 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Balchem in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Sidoti upgraded Balchem to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Balchem from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

Balchem Company 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.