Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. $SQM Stock Sold by RWC Asset Management LLP

RWC Asset Management LLP reduced its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 41.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 373,699 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 269,748 shares during the quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP’s holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera were worth $24,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC raised its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 5,906 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $383,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 21.3% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 20,397 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,323,000 after purchasing an additional 3,586 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 35.5% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,337,746 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $86,780,000 after purchasing an additional 350,573 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 1,483.0% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 7,836 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $502,000 after purchasing an additional 7,341 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the third quarter valued at $46,000. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SQM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $97.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $64.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $94.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 18th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.12.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SQM traded up $0.77 during trading on Friday, reaching $57.14. 875,189 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 952,958. The company’s 50 day moving average is $69.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.78, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a 52 week low of $43.35 and a 52 week high of $98.00.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The basic materials company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 20.62% and a return on equity of 18.20%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 136.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were given a dividend of $1.4350 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 8th. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.85%.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Profile

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA (NYSE: SQM), commonly known as SQM, is a Chilean chemical and mining company headquartered in Santiago. Founded in 1968, the company develops and produces specialty chemicals and plant nutrients from mineral resources in northern Chile.

SQM is one of the world’s major producers of lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, which are used in rechargeable batteries and other industrial applications. The company also produces iodine and iodine derivatives, potassium chloride, potassium sulfate, industrial chemicals, and specialty plant nutrition products.