United Asset Strategies Inc. Acquires 2,136 Shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM)

United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 31.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,912 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 2,136 shares during the quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile were worth $537,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 24,255 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,461,000 after buying an additional 1,644 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 688.4% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,006,607 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,618,000 after purchasing an additional 878,933 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the fourth quarter worth $2,611,000. Bristlecone Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the fourth quarter valued at $354,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,992,151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $120,387,000 after purchasing an additional 172,908 shares during the last quarter. 12.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SQM shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut 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 report on Friday, March 1st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $62.80 in a research note on Monday, April 8th. TheStreet lowered shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.58.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Price Performance

NYSE SQM opened at $46.02 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $13.15 billion, a PE ratio of 6.53 and a beta of 1.07. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. has a 52-week low of $38.50 and a 52-week high of $83.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 2.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $46.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.95.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post 4.08 EPS for the current fiscal 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.