State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Trims Stock Position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 63,774 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 21,162 shares during the quarter. 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 reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQM. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 8.4% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,144,179 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $105,407,000 after buying an additional 165,370 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc increased its holdings in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,204,942 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,668,000 after purchasing an additional 31,955 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 86,811 shares during the period. 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 acquiring an additional 264,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 887,342 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,984,000 after purchasing an additional 24,999 shares in the last quarter. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on SQM shares. Berenberg Bank began coverage on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $47.00 to $38.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.69.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Performance

NYSE SQM opened at $38.38 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $10.96 billion, a PE ratio of 348.91 and a beta of 1.03. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. has a twelve month low of $32.24 and a twelve month high of $64.62.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The basic materials company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.24). The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 last year, the business earned $2.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post -0.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile 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.