Northern Trust Corp Acquires 35,152 Shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC - Free Report) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 407,054 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 35,152 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.25% of Balchem worth $66,348,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in BCPC. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Balchem by 63.7% in the 4th quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 35,069 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,438,000 after purchasing an additional 13,642 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Balchem during the 4th quarter worth approximately $503,000. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in Balchem by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 317,610 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $51,769,000 after acquiring an additional 16,170 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Balchem by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 370,912 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $60,457,000 after purchasing an additional 8,942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Balchem by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 136,255 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $22,209,000 after purchasing an additional 1,634 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BCPC. StockNews.com downgraded Balchem from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. HC Wainwright set a $180.00 price target on shares of Balchem and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Sidoti upgraded shares of Balchem to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th.

Balchem Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ BCPC traded down $1.58 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $163.60. 98,186 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 135,054. The firm has a market cap of $5.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.63, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $166.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Balchem Co. has a 1-year low of $145.70 and a 1-year high of $186.03.

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