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

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,961,487 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 42,693 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.19% of Balchem worth $645,703,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP increased its stake in Balchem by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 1,420 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Balchem by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,462 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Balchem during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Balchem by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 5,123 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $835,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. 87.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Balchem Trading Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ BCPC opened at $163.79 on Monday. Balchem Co. has a one year low of $137.69 and a one year high of $186.03. 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 company has a market capitalization of $5.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.63. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $165.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.28.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last posted its 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). The company 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Balchem Co. will post 4.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on BCPC shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Sidoti upgraded Balchem to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Balchem in a report on Monday, February 24th.

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.