Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) Stock Position Lessened by Banque Cantonale Vaudoise

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise reduced its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 7.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,877 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,753 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile were worth $912,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQM. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 396.2% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 913 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 204.9% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,061 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,385 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 47.1% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,133 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 683 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 216.4% in the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 4,968 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $207,000 after buying an additional 3,398 shares during the period. Finally, Credit Capital Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the third quarter valued at $208,000. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Trading Up 2.1 %

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile stock opened at $39.54 on Friday. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. has a one year low of $32.24 and a one year high of $64.62. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $39.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.76. The company has a market capitalization of $11.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 359.45 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.47.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The basic materials company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.24). Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a return on equity of 23.15% and a net margin of 0.48%. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post -0.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SQM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $62.80 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $47.00 to $38.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.06.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Company Profile

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA operates as a mining company worldwide. The company offers specialty plant nutrients, including sodium potassium nitrate, specialty blends, and other specialty fertilizers under Ultrasol, Qrop, Speedfol, Allganic, Ultrasoline, ProP, and Prohydric brands. It also provides iodine and its derivatives for use in medical, agricultural, industrial, and human and animal nutrition products comprising x-ray contrast media, biocides, antiseptics and disinfectants, pharmaceutical intermediates, polarizing films for LCD and LED screens, chemicals, organic compounds, and pigments, as well as added to edible salt to prevent iodine deficiency disorders.