Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Buys 7,855 Shares of Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its stake in Balchem Co. (NASDAQ:BCPC) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 204,212 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 7,855 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s holdings in Balchem were worth $33,286,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BCPC. Westside Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Balchem in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Balchem in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Balchem during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Balchem during the fourth quarter worth $95,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Balchem by 230.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 645 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. 87.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Balchem Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ BCPC opened at $155.78 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.64, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $165.43 and its 200 day moving average is $169.01. Balchem Co. has a 52 week low of $137.69 and a 52 week high of $186.03. 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 (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 net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 11.37%. The firm had revenue of $240.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.96 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Balchem Co. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.