Vontobel Holding Ltd. Reduces Position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. $SQM

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 29.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,811 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 5,448 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera were worth $452,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 61,700.0% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 618 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the first quarter worth $34,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 153.0% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 969 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the first quarter worth $46,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 728.0% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,242 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,092 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on SQM. Bank of America increased their price objective on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $36.50 to $43.50 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Itau BBA Securities began coverage on Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Thursday, September 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.79.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Price Performance

NYSE SQM opened at $44.65 on Wednesday. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a one year low of $29.36 and a one year high of $47.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $43.94 and a 200 day moving average of $38.28. The company has a market capitalization of $12.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.74 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a current ratio of 2.92.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.21). Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 9.09% and a net margin of 11.29%.The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.75 earnings per share. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s quarterly revenue was down 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post -1.31 EPS for the current year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Company Profile

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.