Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Raises Stock Position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. $SQM

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 33.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,429 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 17,869 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera were worth $3,070,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SQM. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 153.0% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 969 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 2,093.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,926 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 3,747 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 2nd quarter valued at about $146,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $158,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 216.4% during the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 4,968 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $174,000 after buying an additional 3,398 shares during the period. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group set a $79.00 price objective on Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector outperform” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Citigroup lowered shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $41.00 to $79.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Rothschild Redb raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.75.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Trading Up 0.6%

SQM stock opened at $74.50 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $62.94 and a 200-day moving average of $49.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 2.82. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a one year low of $29.36 and a one year high of $75.79.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 18th. The basic materials company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.06). Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 9.79% and a net margin of 12.12%.The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post -1.31 EPS for the current year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 30th were issued a $0.1236 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 30th. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.56%.

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.