Atria Investments Inc Decreases Position in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Atria Investments Inc lowered its stake in shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,330 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 378 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Balchem were worth $380,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Balchem during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Balchem during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Balchem during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Balchem during the 4th quarter worth approximately $95,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Balchem by 230.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 645 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BCPC shares. Sidoti upgraded shares of Balchem to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Balchem in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Balchem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th.

Balchem Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of BCPC stock opened at $167.72 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $163.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Balchem Co. has a 1 year low of $137.69 and a 1 year high of $186.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.68, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.63.

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