Vest Financial LLC Purchases Shares of 5,021 Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Vest Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 5,021 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $833,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Annex Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Balchem by 17.5% during the first quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,806 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,462,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in Balchem by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP lifted its holdings in Balchem by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 1,504 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Balchem by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 87,563 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $14,535,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Balchem by 20,231.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 177,288 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $29,430,000 after buying an additional 176,416 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BCPC shares. Sidoti upgraded shares of Balchem to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered Balchem from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, 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.

Balchem Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ BCPC traded down $1.16 on Thursday, reaching $163.88. 112,497 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 139,898. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a PE ratio of 41.70, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.91. Balchem Co. has a fifty-two week low of $145.70 and a fifty-two week high of $186.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a 50 day moving average of $162.51 and a 200 day moving average of $165.16.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $250.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $245.70 million. Balchem had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 11.37%. Balchem'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 firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Balchem Co. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.