Northern Trust Corp Buys 52,460 Shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. $SQM

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. by 17.9%, owning approximately $13.76 million in shares as of its latest SEC filing.
• Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a current market capitalization of $12.48 billion and reported a revenue decline of 19.4% year-over-year in its latest quarterly earnings.
• Analyst ratings for SQM include two "Buy" ratings and a consensus price target of $43.10, reflecting a mixed outlook for the stock among analysts.

Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM - Free Report) by 17.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 346,259 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 52,460 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.12% of Sociedad Quimica y Minera worth $13,757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,965,641 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $71,470,000 after acquiring an additional 18,255 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,154,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,832,000. RWC Asset Advisors US LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,170,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 573,467 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $22,784,000 after buying an additional 7,302 shares in the last quarter. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on SQM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Zacks Research upgraded Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Scotiabank decreased 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $36.50 to $43.50 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sociedad Quimica y Minera presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $45.08.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Trading Up 3.7%

Sociedad Quimica y Minera stock traded up $1.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $45.91. 1,429,096 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,581,331. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.49 and a beta of 1.07. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $29.36 and a fifty-two week high of $47.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $40.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.93.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 9.09% and a net margin of 11.29%.Sociedad Quimica y Minera's revenue for the quarter was down 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post -1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera 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.