Schroder Investment Management Group Cuts Holdings in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Schroder Investment Management Group cut its position in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 367,230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 22,587 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group owned approximately 1.13% of Balchem worth $60,215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC increased its stake in Balchem by 63.7% in the 4th quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 35,069 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,438,000 after purchasing an additional 13,642 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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 valued at $80,782,000 after buying an additional 7,721 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in Balchem by 26.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,893 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,093,000 after acquiring an additional 2,467 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Balchem in the 4th quarter worth approximately $503,000. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Balchem by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 317,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $51,769,000 after acquiring an additional 16,170 shares during the last quarter. 87.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Balchem Price Performance

Shares of Balchem stock opened at $166.00 on Tuesday. Balchem Co. has a 52 week low of $137.69 and a 52 week high of $186.03. 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 $5.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.24, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.63. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $165.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.27.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $240.00 million during 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 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.