Amundi Boosts Stock Holdings in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 151.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,096 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,496 shares during the period. Amundi owned 0.06% of Balchem worth $3,000,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BCPC. Atria Investments Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Balchem by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,708 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Balchem by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,034 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Balchem by 129.7% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 98,853 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,398,000 after purchasing an additional 55,822 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Balchem by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 21,797 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,836,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chesapeake Capital Corp IL boosted its holdings in shares of Balchem by 27.9% during the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL now owns 3,307 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $579,000 after purchasing an additional 721 shares during the last quarter. 87.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Balchem in a report on Monday, February 24th. Sidoti upgraded Balchem to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th.

Balchem Trading Up 0.7 %

BCPC opened at $167.72 on Monday. Balchem Co. has a one year low of $137.69 and a one year high of $186.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a PE ratio of 42.68, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.63. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $163.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.73. 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 announced its earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $240.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.96 million. Balchem had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 11.37%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Balchem Co. will post 4.64 EPS for the current 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.