Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) Shares Acquired by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 76.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 114,992 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 50,000 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile were worth $4,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQM. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 104.0% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,128 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,085 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 47.1% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,133 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 683 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 216.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,891 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 1,978 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the third quarter worth $202,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on SQM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.56.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE SQM opened at $40.98 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $11.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. has a 12-month low of $32.24 and a 12-month high of $51.90.

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.