Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. $SQM Shares Purchased by Banque Cantonale Vaudoise

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 292.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,936 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,279 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera were worth $2,747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SQM. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 138.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 37.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the third quarter worth approximately $49,000. 12.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Trading Down 3.4%

NYSE SQM opened at $73.03 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $84.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.24. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a one year low of $34.44 and a one year high of $98.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.76. The firm has a market cap of $20.86 billion, a PE ratio of 25.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.95.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, May 16th. The basic materials company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 11.99% and a net margin of 15.38%. Analysts expect that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $1.0295 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s payout ratio is presently 92.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on SQM shares. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. CLSA upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Sociedad Quimica y Minera from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $94.00 to $100.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.50.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Company Profile

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA (NYSE: SQM) is a leading global producer of specialty chemicals and minerals headquartered in Santiago, Chile. The company focuses on the extraction and processing of key inputs for the agricultural, industrial and high‐tech sectors. Its core business activities include the mining of lithium, potassium and iodine, as well as the manufacture of value‐added products derived from these raw materials.

SQM’s product portfolio spans lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide used in electric vehicle batteries and energy storage systems; potassium chloride and potassium nitrate fertilizers designed for precision agriculture; and iodine and its derivatives for pharmaceutical, food and electronics applications.