Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Sells 532 Shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC decreased its holdings in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 47.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 595 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 532 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC’s holdings in Balchem were worth $97,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BCPC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $645,703,000 after acquiring an additional 42,693 shares during the last quarter. 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 Balchem by 5.1% in the 4th 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 lifted its holdings in Balchem by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 576,994 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $94,047,000 after buying an additional 79,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Balchem by 11.0% in 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 period. 87.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BCPC shares. HC Wainwright set a $180.00 target price on shares of Balchem and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Sidoti raised Balchem to a “hold” rating in a research report 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 Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ:BCPC opened at $163.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.99. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $166.47. Balchem Co. has a one year low of $145.70 and a one year high of $186.03. The firm has a market cap of $5.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.93.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $250.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $245.70 million. Balchem had a return on equity of 11.37% and a net margin of 13.47%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Balchem Co. 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.