Cetera Investment Advisers Trims Position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Cetera Investment Advisers lowered its stake in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,542 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 666 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Balchem were worth $903,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Balchem by 93.8% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 157 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Balchem in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new position in shares of Balchem in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Balchem in the 4th quarter worth about $95,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Balchem by 230.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 645 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Balchem Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:BCPC opened at $165.96 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.41 billion, a PE ratio of 42.23, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $161.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $166.27. Balchem Co. has a fifty-two week low of $145.70 and a fifty-two 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.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $250.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $245.70 million. Balchem had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 11.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Balchem Co. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Balchem Company 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.