Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) Shares Bought by Bank of America Corp DE

Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC - Free Report) by 120.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 156,562 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 85,692 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.48% of Balchem worth $25,519,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Balchem by 283.1% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 81,805 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $13,334,000 after purchasing an additional 60,449 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC boosted its position in Balchem by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 20,813 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,392,000 after purchasing an additional 3,032 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in Balchem during the fourth quarter worth $316,000. Comerica Bank boosted its position in Balchem by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 101,144 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $16,486,000 after purchasing an additional 2,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its position in Balchem by 68.1% during the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 3,740 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $610,000 after purchasing an additional 1,515 shares in the last quarter. 87.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BCPC has been the topic of several recent research reports. HC Wainwright set a $180.00 price objective on Balchem and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Sidoti upgraded Balchem to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Balchem from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Balchem Trading Down 0.9%

Balchem stock traded down $1.59 during trading on Friday, hitting $165.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 93,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 137,528. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.23, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.93. The stock's fifty day moving average is $161.80 and its 200 day moving average is $166.27. Balchem Co. has a 1-year low of $145.70 and a 1-year high of $186.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.99.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.25 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $250.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.70 million. Balchem had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 11.37%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Balchem Co. will post 4.64 EPS 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.