State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 21,162 Shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its holdings in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM - Free Report) by 24.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 63,774 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 21,162 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile were worth $2,658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SQM. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 41.6% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 899,646 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $36,661,000 after buying an additional 264,324 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,592,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 8.4% in the 1st 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 period. Prudential PLC raised its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 18.9% in the 2nd 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 period. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 9.3% in the 1st 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 period. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $55.00 to $44.00 in a report on Friday, October 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $62.80 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Berenberg Bank started coverage on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. They set a "hold" rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Two 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.69.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Price Performance

SQM traded down $0.48 during trading on Thursday, hitting $37.90. 941,872 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,170,646. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. has a twelve month low of $32.24 and a twelve month high of $64.62. The company has a market cap of $10.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 348.91 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $39.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.05.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a net margin of 0.48% and a return on equity of 23.15%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post -0.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.