Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) Position Increased by AlphaQuest LLC

AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 331.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,955 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,112 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Balchem were worth $1,297,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC increased its position in Balchem by 63.7% in the 4th quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 35,069 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,438,000 after acquiring an additional 13,642 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Balchem by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 458,986 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $80,782,000 after acquiring an additional 7,721 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in Balchem by 26.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,893 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,093,000 after acquiring an additional 2,467 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Balchem in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $503,000. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in Balchem by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 317,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $51,769,000 after acquiring an additional 16,170 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 recently commented on BCPC shares. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Balchem in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Sidoti upgraded Balchem to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th.

Balchem Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of BCPC stock opened at $175.69 on Monday. Balchem Co. has a 1 year low of $137.69 and a 1 year high of $186.03. The stock has a market cap of $5.72 billion, a PE ratio of 44.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.63. The business’s fifty day moving average is $163.17 and its 200-day moving average is $169.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.99.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last issued 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). Balchem had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 11.37%. The firm had revenue of $240.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.96 million. Equities analysts expect that Balchem Co. will post 4.64 earnings per share 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.