Congress Wealth Management LLC DE Increases Stake in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE boosted its stake in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 50,711 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,393 shares during the quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE’s holdings in Balchem were worth $8,266,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BCPC. Westside Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Balchem during the third quarter worth $27,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Balchem during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Balchem during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Balchem in the fourth quarter valued at about $95,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Balchem by 230.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 645 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Balchem Stock Down 0.7 %

Balchem stock opened at $163.33 on Wednesday. Balchem Co. has a 52 week low of $137.69 and a 52 week high of $186.03. The firm has a market cap of $5.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.63. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $164.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.