Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Increases Stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM - Free Report) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,992,151 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 172,908 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned about 0.70% of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile worth $120,387,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQM. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the 1st quarter valued at about $346,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 48.9% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 10,730 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $918,000 after buying an additional 3,526 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 17.3% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 11,471 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $982,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 44.8% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 5,814 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $498,000 after acquiring an additional 1,799 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 938,593 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $80,344,000 after purchasing an additional 69,385 shares during the last quarter. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SQM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $67.00.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Trading Down 0.5 %

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile stock traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $47.61. 782,487 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 970,059. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.75 and a beta of 1.07. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. has a 12 month low of $38.50 and a 12 month high of $83.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $45.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.36.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.51). Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a return on equity of 37.86% and a net margin of 26.95%. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.03 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

About Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA produces and distributes specialty plant nutrients, iodine derivatives, lithium derivatives, potassium chloride and sulfate, industrial chemicals, and other products and services. The company offers specialty plant nutrients, including potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate, sodium potassium nitrate, specialty blends, and other specialty fertilizers.