Xponance Inc. Increases Stock Position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,313 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Balchem were worth $377,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp raised its position in Balchem by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,234,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $217,224,000 after acquiring an additional 12,006 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Balchem by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 928,904 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $163,514,000 after purchasing an additional 27,979 shares in the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Balchem by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 819,746 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $133,615,000 after purchasing an additional 39,877 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Balchem by 944.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 497,495 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $87,559,000 after buying an additional 449,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Balchem by 1.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 458,986 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $80,782,000 after buying an additional 7,721 shares during the period. 87.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Balchem Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of BCPC opened at $165.20 on Thursday. Balchem Co. has a 1-year low of $137.69 and a 1-year high of $186.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $165.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.28. The stock has a market cap of $5.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.63.

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