Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM - Free Report) by 688.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,006,607 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 878,933 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.35% of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile worth $60,618,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Up 0.0 %

SQM stock traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $51.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 895,614 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,468,668. The company has a market cap of $14.61 billion, a PE ratio of 7.26 and a beta of 1.07. The firm's 50-day moving average is $46.25 and its 200-day moving average is $50.28. 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 current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SQM has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective 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 report on Friday, March 1st. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $52.00 to $62.80 in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $54.50 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, December 15th. Finally, TheStreet cut Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a "b-" rating to a "c" rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.58.

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.