William Blair Investment Management LLC Has $44.75 Million Position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 16.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 274,545 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,806 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 0.84% of Balchem worth $44,749,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Balchem by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 9,413 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,534,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Heritage Family Offices LLP grew its holdings in Balchem by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 1,420 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in Balchem by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,462 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Balchem during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Balchem by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 5,123 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $835,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. 87.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented 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 issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Balchem in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

Balchem Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BCPC opened at $168.46 on Tuesday. Balchem Co. has a fifty-two week low of $137.69 and a fifty-two week high of $186.03. The stock has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.87, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.99. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.70.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $240.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.96 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Balchem Co. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Balchem 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.