Lazard Asset Management LLC Decreases Stake in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC - Free Report) by 12.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,683 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 2,074 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Balchem were worth $2,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Balchem by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 989 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $161,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Balchem by 93.8% in 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. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Balchem by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 9,413 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,534,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in shares of Balchem by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 2,595 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Balchem by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,382 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $551,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. 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 upgraded Balchem to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Balchem from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th.

Balchem Trading Up 0.6%

Balchem stock traded up $1.06 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $170.45. The company had a trading volume of 173,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 137,200. Balchem Co. has a 12-month low of $145.70 and a 12-month 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. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $161.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.37, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.93.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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). Balchem had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 11.37%. The company had revenue of $250.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Balchem Co. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.