Marshall Wace LLP Takes $1.93 Million Position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 11,832 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,929,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Balchem by 405.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 60,777 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $10,695,000 after buying an additional 48,762 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Balchem in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Balchem in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Balchem by 10.5% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,975 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,404,000 after buying an additional 761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Balchem during the 3rd quarter worth about $203,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Sidoti raised shares of Balchem to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. HC Wainwright set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Balchem and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Balchem from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

Balchem Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of BCPC stock traded up $2.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $159.62. 23,201 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 133,631. The company has a market capitalization of $5.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.93. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $143.47 and a fifty-two week high of $186.03. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $163.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.77.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.25 by ($0.03). Balchem had a return on equity of 11.37% and a net margin of 13.47%. The company had revenue of $250.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $245.70 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Balchem Co. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current 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.