Banco Santander S.A. Buys 17,562 Shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM)

Banco Santander S.A. raised its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM - Free Report) by 96.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,832 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 17,562 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile were worth $1,303,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the 4th quarter worth about $120,395,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 28.4% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 804,913 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,267,000 after purchasing an additional 177,898 shares during the last quarter. Peregrine Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,505,000. Concentric Capital Strategies LP bought a new position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,213,000. Finally, Moneda S.A. Administradora General de Fondos lifted its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 493.7% during the 4th quarter. Moneda S.A. Administradora General de Fondos now owns 119,691 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,352,000 after buying an additional 99,532 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.41% of the company's stock.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile stock traded up $0.82 during trading on Thursday, reaching $42.13. The stock had a trading volume of 930,677 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,048,073. The company has a current ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $12.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.95, a P/E/G ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 1.08. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. has a 52 week low of $32.24 and a 52 week high of $51.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $39.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.96.

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Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a positive return on equity of 16.12% and a negative net margin of 6.74%. Sell-side analysts predict that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post -1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SQM has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Scotiabank cut their target price on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $45.56.

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.