Virtu Financial LLC Buys Shares of 24,269 Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 24,269 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $989,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SQM. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,076,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 133.8% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 830 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 79.4% in the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 29,612 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 13,108 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 15,716 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $946,000 after purchasing an additional 2,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 1,490.9% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 87,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,269,000 after purchasing an additional 82,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SQM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $47.00 to $38.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Berenberg Bank started coverage on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. They set a “hold” rating and a $35.00 target price for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.06.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Down 2.0 %

SQM opened at $37.65 on Thursday. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. has a one year low of $32.24 and a one year high of $64.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.09 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.28.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last released its quarterly 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 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 return on equity of 23.15% and a net margin of 0.48%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post -0.88 EPS 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.