Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes Position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 81,958 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,359,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Balchem by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,234,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $217,224,000 after buying an additional 12,006 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Balchem by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 928,904 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $163,514,000 after purchasing an additional 27,979 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Balchem by 944.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 497,495 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $87,559,000 after purchasing an additional 449,854 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Balchem by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 458,986 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $80,782,000 after purchasing an additional 7,721 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 8,942 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCPC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Sidoti upgraded shares of Balchem to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Balchem in a research note on Monday, February 24th.

Balchem Stock Down 0.3 %

BCPC stock opened at $165.24 on Thursday. Balchem Co. has a one year low of $137.69 and a one year high of $186.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a PE ratio of 42.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.99. The company has a fifty day moving average of $164.45 and a 200-day moving average of $169.59.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.08). Balchem had a return on equity of 11.37% and a net margin of 13.47%. The firm had revenue of $240.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.96 million. As a group, analysts expect that Balchem Co. will post 4.64 EPS 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.