Van ECK Associates Corp Cuts Holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM)

Van ECK Associates Corp decreased its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM - Free Report) by 30.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 627,015 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 272,631 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.22% of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile worth $24,955,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the second quarter valued at $8,592,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 8.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 165,370 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC raised its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 18.9% during the second quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 612,538 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $24,961,000 after acquiring an additional 97,479 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $50,112,000 after acquiring an additional 86,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Unison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the second quarter worth $2,547,000. Institutional investors own 12.41% of the company's stock.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Down 0.3 %

SQM traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $39.62. The company had a trading volume of 720,548 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,168,929. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. has a 52 week low of $32.24 and a 52 week high of $64.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market capitalization of $11.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 360.18 and a beta of 1.03. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $39.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.34.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The basic materials company reported $0.75 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a return on equity of 23.15% and a net margin of 0.48%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post -0.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SQM shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $47.00 to $38.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Berenberg Bank started coverage on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. They set a "hold" rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $62.80 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $48.69.

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.