SG Americas Securities LLC Invests $1.15 Million in Balchem Corporation (NASDAQ:BCPC)

SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Balchem Corporation (NASDAQ:BCPC) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,918 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,148,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 42,693 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Balchem by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 938,504 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $153,000,000 after purchasing an additional 9,600 shares during the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Balchem by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 819,746 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $133,615,000 after buying an additional 39,877 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Balchem by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 576,994 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $94,047,000 after buying an additional 79,499 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Balchem by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 509,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $83,044,000 after buying an additional 50,504 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BCPC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. HC Wainwright set a $180.00 price target on Balchem and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Sidoti raised Balchem to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st.

Balchem Stock Down 0.4%

BCPC stock opened at $159.32 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $163.11 and a 200 day moving average of $164.50. The firm has a market cap of $5.20 billion, a PE ratio of 38.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.91. Balchem Corporation has a twelve month low of $145.70 and a twelve month high of $186.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $250.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $245.70 million. Balchem had a net margin of 14.16% and a return on equity of 12.01%. Balchem’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Balchem Corporation will post 4.64 EPS 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.