Natixis Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Balchem Corporation (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Balchem Corporation (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 7.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 24,336 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,721 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Balchem were worth $4,040,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BCPC. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Balchem by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 18,242 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,943,000 after purchasing an additional 1,636 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC purchased a new position in shares of Balchem during the 4th quarter valued at $474,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in shares of Balchem by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 48,365 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,883,000 after buying an additional 5,846 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Balchem during the 4th quarter worth $370,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Balchem by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 989 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $161,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 87.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BCPC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $189.00 price objective (up from $180.00) on shares of Balchem in a report on Monday.

Balchem Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BCPC opened at $160.00 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $159.43 and its 200 day moving average is $162.16. The firm has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.70, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.64. Balchem Corporation has a 52-week low of $145.70 and a 52-week high of $185.96.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.02. Balchem had a return on equity of 12.41% and a net margin of 14.48%. The firm had revenue of $255.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $250.31 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.09 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Balchem Corporation will post 4.64 EPS for the current year.

Balchem Company 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.