Ameriprise Financial Inc. Has $25.22 Million Stake in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. decreased its stake in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 23.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 154,720 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 48,459 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.48% of Balchem worth $25,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Algert Global LLC boosted its stake in Balchem by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 20,813 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,392,000 after buying an additional 3,032 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in Balchem in the 4th quarter valued at $316,000. Comerica Bank boosted its stake in Balchem by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 101,144 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $16,486,000 after buying an additional 2,370 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Balchem by 68.1% in the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 3,740 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $610,000 after buying an additional 1,515 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Balchem by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 407,054 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $66,348,000 after buying an additional 35,152 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Balchem from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. HC Wainwright set a $180.00 price objective on Balchem and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Sidoti upgraded Balchem to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th.

Balchem Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of BCPC opened at $163.37 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $161.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $166.40. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $145.70 and a 52-week high of $186.03. The company has a market cap of $5.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.57, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.93.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.25 by ($0.03). Balchem had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 11.37%. The business had revenue of $250.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $245.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Balchem Co. will post 4.64 EPS for the current fiscal 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.