Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. $SQM Shares Sold by Robeco Schweiz AG

Robeco Schweiz AG decreased its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 499,152 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 57,000 shares during the period. Robeco Schweiz AG’s holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera were worth $32,380,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SQM. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,183,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in 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 worth $40,671,000 after purchasing an additional 430,900 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings 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 last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP acquired a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the first quarter worth $21,297,000. Finally, ABN Amro Investment Solutions raised its holdings in 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 worth $21,504,000 after purchasing an additional 123,700 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Up 1.4%

SQM stock opened at $57.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.75. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a 12 month low of $43.35 and a 12 month high of $98.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.05.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 14th. The basic materials company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 136.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $94.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $93.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $64.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $97.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.12.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Company 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.