Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Purchases 2,865 Shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its position in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,616 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 2,865 shares during the quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC’s holdings in Balchem were worth $5,968,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC increased its position in shares of Balchem by 63.7% in the fourth quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 35,069 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,438,000 after acquiring an additional 13,642 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Balchem by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 458,986 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $80,782,000 after purchasing an additional 7,721 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in Balchem by 26.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,893 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,093,000 after purchasing an additional 2,467 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Balchem in the 4th quarter worth approximately $503,000. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. grew its position in shares of Balchem by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 317,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $51,769,000 after buying an additional 16,170 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Balchem Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BCPC opened at $165.20 on Thursday. 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 $137.69 and a 52-week high of $186.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $165.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $169.28.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $240.00 million for 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Balchem Co. will post 4.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Balchem

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.