Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) Shares Sold by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 9.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,346 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,303 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera were worth $491,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 79,047 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,874,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 299.1% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 95,839 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,485,000 after purchasing an additional 71,823 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 113,173 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,115,000 after acquiring an additional 3,887 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 4th quarter valued at $261,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 1,416.8% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 141,214 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,135,000 after buying an additional 131,904 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SQM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $55.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sociedad Quimica y Minera presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.50.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Price Performance

SQM stock opened at $46.44 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a 12 month low of $29.36 and a 12 month high of $47.39. The firm has a market cap of $13.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.01 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $36.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.18.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.05 billion. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 11.71% and a net margin of 13.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($3.04) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post -1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.