Voya Investment Management LLC Decreases Position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Voya Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC - Free Report) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,468 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 3,990 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned about 0.10% of Balchem worth $5,129,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC increased its position in shares of Balchem by 63.7% in the fourth quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 35,069 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,438,000 after acquiring an additional 13,642 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Balchem by 1.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 458,986 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $80,782,000 after purchasing an additional 7,721 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Balchem during the fourth quarter worth $503,000. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its position in shares of Balchem by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 317,610 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $51,769,000 after purchasing an additional 16,170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Balchem by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 370,912 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $60,457,000 after acquiring an additional 8,942 shares during the period. 87.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Balchem Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BCPC traded down $0.86 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $161.88. The stock had a trading volume of 12,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 133,878. The stock has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $163.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $166.56. 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 12-month low of $145.70 and a 12-month high of $186.03.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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). Balchem had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 11.37%. The business had revenue of $250.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $245.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research 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.