1,903 Shares in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) Acquired by Magnetar Financial LLC

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,903 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $310,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Balchem by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 9,413 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,534,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Heritage Family Offices LLP boosted its stake in shares of Balchem by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 1,420 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Balchem by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,462 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Balchem in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Balchem by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 5,123 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $835,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Sidoti raised shares of Balchem to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Balchem in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th.

Balchem Stock Performance

Shares of BCPC opened at $161.17 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $164.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.42. Balchem Co. has a one year low of $137.69 and a one 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 company has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of 41.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.63.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $240.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.96 million. Balchem had a return on equity of 11.37% and a net margin of 13.47%. As a group, analysts expect that Balchem Co. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Balchem 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.