Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) Shares Bought by Vista Finance LLC

Vista Finance LLC raised its position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 7.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,347 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Vista Finance LLC’s holdings in Balchem were worth $224,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Balchem by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,961,487 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $645,703,000 after acquiring an additional 42,693 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Balchem by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 938,504 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $153,000,000 after acquiring an additional 9,600 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Balchem by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 819,746 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $133,615,000 after acquiring an additional 39,877 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Balchem by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 576,994 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $94,047,000 after acquiring an additional 79,499 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Balchem by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 509,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $83,044,000 after acquiring an additional 50,504 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BCPC shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Sidoti upgraded shares of Balchem to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, HC Wainwright set a $180.00 price target on shares of Balchem and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th.

Balchem Stock Performance

Shares of BCPC opened at $161.53 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $164.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a PE ratio of 41.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.91. Balchem Co. has a 52-week low of $145.70 and a 52-week high of $186.03.

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