Raymond James & Associates Trims Stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM)

Raymond James & Associates lowered its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 33.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,249 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,583 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile were worth $316,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Bank of Canada FI grew 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 worth $46,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $63,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 44.4% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,539 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 39.5% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 2,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $144,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anfield Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SQM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank cut their price target on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 4th. StockNews.com cut Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.18.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Price Performance

NYSE SQM opened at $44.14 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $47.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.74. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. has a 1-year low of $38.50 and a 1-year high of $81.50.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.51). The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion for 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $4.03 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post 4.18 earnings per share 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.