Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. $SQM Shares Sold by Peregrine Investment Management Inc.

Peregrine Investment Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 32.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 148,831 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 70,319 shares during the quarter. Sociedad Quimica y Minera accounts for 6.4% of Peregrine Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Peregrine Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera were worth $10,240,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 138.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 3rd quarter worth about $62,000. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Performance

Sociedad Quimica y Minera stock opened at $94.68 on Wednesday. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $29.36 and a fifty-two week high of $98.00. The company has a market capitalization of $27.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.18, a PEG ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.42.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The basic materials company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 9.69% and a net margin of 12.85%.The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter. As a group, analysts forecast that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post 7.3 earnings per share 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 issued a $1.0295 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend 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 130.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on SQM shares. Zacks Research downgraded Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $79.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sociedad Quimica y Minera presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.42.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera 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.