Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. $SQM Shares Sold by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. lessened its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,300 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 30,100 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera were worth $4,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 35.5% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,337,746 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $86,780,000 after purchasing an additional 350,573 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 640,499 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $51,842,000 after buying an additional 83,738 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 1st quarter valued at $50,183,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 602.0% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 502,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,671,000 after acquiring an additional 430,900 shares during the period. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 347,836 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $22,564,000 after acquiring an additional 1,763 shares during the period. 12.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Price Performance

Sociedad Quimica y Minera stock opened at $54.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.54 billion, a PE ratio of 11.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.10. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a 52 week low of $50.68 and a 52 week high of $98.00. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.63. 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 (NYSE:SQM) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The basic materials company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 20.62% and a return on equity of 18.20%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 136.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were paid 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 (DPR) is 34.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $88.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 25th. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $94.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, Citigroup raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $97.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.11.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Profile

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile, known as SQM, is a Chilean mining and chemical company that produces lithium and lithium derivatives, iodine, potassium nitrate, specialty plant nutrients and other industrial chemicals. Its products serve industries including energy storage, agriculture, pharmaceuticals and manufacturing. The company’s operations are centered in northern Chile, including the Atacama Desert, where it extracts minerals and other resources from salt flats and mineral deposits. SQM sells its products to customers in Chile and international markets.