Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) Shares Acquired by Banco Santander S.A.

Banco Santander S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 24.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 18,270 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 3,555 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile were worth $761,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SQM. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 41.6% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 899,646 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,661,000 after acquiring an additional 264,324 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,592,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 8.4% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,144,179 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $105,407,000 after purchasing an additional 165,370 shares during the period. Prudential PLC raised its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 18.9% in the second quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 612,538 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,961,000 after purchasing an additional 97,479 shares during the period. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 9.3% during the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,019,368 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $50,112,000 after purchasing an additional 86,811 shares in the last quarter. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Berenberg Bank initiated coverage on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Friday, October 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $62.80 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.06.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Down 3.5 %

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile stock opened at $38.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.94. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $39.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.76. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. has a 1-year low of $32.24 and a 1-year high of $64.62.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The basic materials company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a positive return on equity of 16.12% and a negative net margin of 6.74%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post -1.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile

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.