Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. $SQM Shares Sold by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. cut its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 62,615 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 8,814 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera were worth $4,308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the fourth quarter worth approximately $319,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the fourth quarter worth approximately $224,000. Perpetual Ltd boosted its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 29.9% in the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 103,127 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,095,000 after acquiring an additional 23,740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,669 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $184,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Trading Up 8.7%

Shares of SQM stock opened at $95.26 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $27.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.47 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 3.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $29.36 and a fifty-two week high of $95.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $77.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.82.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The basic materials company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 12.85% and a return on equity of 9.69%. On average, analysts anticipate that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post -1.31 EPS for the current year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $1.0295 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s payout ratio is presently 5.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Friday, March 27th. Clarkson Capital restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. HSBC raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 19th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.42.

About Sociedad Quimica y Minera

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.