State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 1,513 Shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 72,263 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,513 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile were worth $4,352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 153.8% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 825 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the third quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,253 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,414 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 44.4% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,539 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Up 1.5 %

SQM stock opened at $44.16 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $47.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.55. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. has a 12 month low of $38.50 and a 12 month high of $81.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 1.07.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.51). Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a net margin of 26.95% and a return on equity of 37.86%. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.03 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on SQM shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $54.50 to $46.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 4th. TheStreet cut shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.18.

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.