Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Buys 248 Shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Balchem were worth $1,372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BCPC. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Balchem by 944.3% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Balchem in the fourth quarter worth approximately $23,628,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Balchem in the fourth quarter worth approximately $13,359,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Balchem by 129.7% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 98,853 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,398,000 after purchasing an additional 55,822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Balchem by 405.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 60,777 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,695,000 after purchasing an additional 48,762 shares in the last quarter. 87.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Balchem Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of Balchem stock opened at $165.79 on Wednesday. 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 52 week low of $137.69 and a 52 week high of $186.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $164.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.39 billion, a PE ratio of 42.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.63.

Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $240.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.96 million. Balchem had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 11.37%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Balchem Co. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Balchem

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.