Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 26,496 Shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM)

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 735,288 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 26,496 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.26% of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile worth $43,875,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SQM. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 153.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 825 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the 1st quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Money Concepts Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the 4th quarter worth $52,000. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on SQM shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $52.00 to $62.80 in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $66.58.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of SQM stock traded down $0.40 on Wednesday, hitting $51.17. 1,206,449 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,476,824. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.32 and a beta of 1.07. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $38.50 and a fifty-two week high of $83.67. The business has a 50-day moving average of $45.89 and a 200 day moving average of $50.27.

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

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Company Profile

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.