Barclays PLC Grows Holdings in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 67,213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,436 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned 0.21% of Balchem worth $10,955,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCPC. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Balchem by 15.3% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,229 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Balchem during the third quarter worth $27,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Balchem during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Balchem by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,975 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,404,000 after buying an additional 761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Balchem during the 3rd quarter valued at about $203,000. 87.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Balchem in a report on Monday, February 24th. Sidoti upgraded shares of Balchem to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

Balchem Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of BCPC stock opened at $156.92 on Tuesday. Balchem Co. has a 1 year low of $137.69 and a 1 year high of $186.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $164.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.54. 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 has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a PE ratio of 39.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.75.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.08). Balchem had a return on equity of 11.37% and a net margin of 13.47%. The company had revenue of $240.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.96 million. As a group, 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.