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

Candriam S.C.A. reduced its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the first quarter worth $50,183,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 602.0% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 502,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,671,000 after purchasing an additional 430,900 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $86,780,000 after purchasing an additional 350,573 shares in the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions raised its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 87.1% during the first quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 265,677 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $21,504,000 after purchasing an additional 123,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the second quarter worth about $8,869,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Down 4.1%

SQM opened at $54.40 on Wednesday. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a one year low of $50.68 and a one year high of $98.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.61. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $64.59 and its 200-day moving average is $74.63. The company 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 (NYSE:SQM) last announced 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. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 20.62%. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 136.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities 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 declared a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were issued a $1.4350 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 8th. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 25th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $97.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $93.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $71.00 in a report on Friday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.11.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Company 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.