Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 119,906 Shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. $SQM

Key Points

• Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio reduced its SQM position by 48.3% in the first quarter, selling 119,906 shares and retaining 128,186 shares valued at approximately $10.4 million.
• Other institutional investors, including Goldman Sachs and Royal Bank of Canada, increased their holdings; institutional investors collectively own 12.41% of SQM.
• SQM reported quarterly revenue of $1.76 billion and earnings of $1.28 per share. Analysts maintain an average “Hold” rating with a consensus price target of $74.58, while the stock recently traded at $68.74.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio cut its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM - Free Report) by 48.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 128,186 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 119,906 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera were worth $10,375,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 18.5% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 198,789 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $7,898,000 after buying an additional 31,066 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 53.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 358,646 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $14,249,000 after acquiring an additional 125,506 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 20.4% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 20,886 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $737,000 after acquiring an additional 3,545 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 38.3% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 159,027 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,609,000 after acquiring an additional 44,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 124,575 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,394,000 after acquiring an additional 3,634 shares during the last quarter. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Performance

Sociedad Quimica y Minera stock opened at $68.74 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.76. The company has a market capitalization of $19.64 billion, a PE ratio of 24.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $76.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.79. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $35.67 and a fifty-two week high of $98.00.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, May 16th. The basic materials company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 15.38% and a return on equity of 11.99%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SQM has been the topic of several recent research reports. CLSA upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $64.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Sociedad Quimica y Minera from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $94.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.58.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Company Profile

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA NYSE: SQM is a leading global producer of specialty chemicals and minerals headquartered in Santiago, Chile. The company focuses on the extraction and processing of key inputs for the agricultural, industrial and high‐tech sectors. Its core business activities include the mining of lithium, potassium and iodine, as well as the manufacture of value‐added products derived from these raw materials.

SQM's product portfolio spans lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide used in electric vehicle batteries and energy storage systems; potassium chloride and potassium nitrate fertilizers designed for precision agriculture; and iodine and its derivatives for pharmaceutical, food and electronics applications.

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