Vest Financial LLC Makes New $833,000 Investment in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Vest Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,021 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $833,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Balchem by 93.8% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 157 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Balchem in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Balchem by 534.2% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 241 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Balchem in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $95,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Balchem by 230.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 645 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BCPC. HC Wainwright set a $180.00 price objective on Balchem and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Balchem from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Sidoti raised Balchem to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

Balchem Stock Performance

Shares of BCPC stock opened at $166.22 on Monday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $162.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.24. Balchem Co. has a one year low of $145.70 and a one year high of $186.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.42 billion, a PE ratio of 42.30, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC - Get Free Report) last announced 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). 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 the consensus estimate of $245.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Balchem Co. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current 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.

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