Ethic Inc. Buys 10,018 Shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM)

Ethic Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 151.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,644 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 10,018 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile were worth $605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SQM. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the fourth quarter worth about $120,395,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 3,302,897 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $120,093,000 after purchasing an additional 177,323 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,071,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,954,000 after purchasing an additional 18,748 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 28.4% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 804,913 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,267,000 after purchasing an additional 177,898 shares during the period. Finally, North of South Capital LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. North of South Capital LLP now owns 597,057 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $21,709,000 after purchasing an additional 95,564 shares during the period. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Performance

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile stock opened at $35.07 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. has a 1-year low of $31.27 and a 1-year high of $50.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $37.44 and a 200-day moving average of $38.30. The firm has a market cap of $10.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -31.59, a P/E/G ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 1.11.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.10). Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a positive return on equity of 16.12% and a negative net margin of 6.74%. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post -1.31 EPS for the current year.

About Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA operates as a mining company worldwide. The company offers specialty plant nutrients, including sodium potassium nitrate, specialty blends, and other specialty fertilizers under Ultrasol, Qrop, Speedfol, Allganic, Ultrasoline, ProP, and Prohydric brands. It also provides iodine and its derivatives for use in medical, agricultural, industrial, and human and animal nutrition products comprising x-ray contrast media, biocides, antiseptics and disinfectants, pharmaceutical intermediates, polarizing films for LCD and LED screens, chemicals, organic compounds, and pigments, as well as added to edible salt to prevent iodine deficiency disorders.