Squarepoint Ops LLC Acquires New Shares in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 2,502 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $385,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BCPC. Congress Asset Management Co. MA boosted its position in Balchem by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 239,657 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,649,000 after buying an additional 14,354 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Balchem by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,791,512 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $563,987,000 after purchasing an additional 30,868 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Balchem by 18.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 473 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Balchem by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,967 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $615,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management lifted its stake in Balchem by 12.6% during the first quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 21,999 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,409,000 after purchasing an additional 2,460 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Balchem

In related news, SVP Gunsteren Job Leonard Van sold 7,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.05, for a total transaction of $1,395,387.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,537,627. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BCPC has been the subject of several analyst reports. HC Wainwright raised their price target on shares of Balchem from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com cut Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th.

Balchem Stock Performance

NASDAQ BCPC opened at $170.18 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.07, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.83. Balchem Co. has a 52-week low of $110.74 and a 52-week high of $186.03. The company has a fifty day moving average of $170.65 and a 200-day moving average of $160.91.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The basic materials company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.03. Balchem had a net margin of 12.52% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The company had revenue of $234.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $241.26 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Balchem Co. will post 3.96 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.