Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Has $96.56 Million Stock Position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM - Free Report) by 26.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,430,332 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 880,859 shares during the quarter. Sociedad Quimica y Minera comprises about 1.2% of Manning & Napier Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC owned about 0.85% of Sociedad Quimica y Minera worth $96,557,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,278 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 1,875 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 55.1% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 19,275 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $701,000 after purchasing an additional 6,846 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Sigma Planning Corp raised its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 13,011 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $473,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the fourth quarter worth about $393,000. Institutional investors own 12.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $55.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $41.14.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:SQM traded up $0.32 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $34.27. 1,179,211 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,077,330. The stock has a market cap of $9.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.24 and a beta of 1.04. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $29.36 and a fifty-two week high of $45.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $33.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.05 billion. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 11.71% and a net margin of 13.45%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($3.04) EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post -1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera 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.