J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Makes New Investment in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. $SQM

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG purchased a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 8,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $688,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SQM. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 138.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 37.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on SQM. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Zacks Research cut Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Sociedad Quimica y Minera from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $94.00 to $100.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.58.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Performance

Shares of SQM stock opened at $71.60 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $79.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.76. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a 1 year low of $35.67 and a 1 year high of $98.00. The firm has a market cap of $20.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.12, a PEG ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 0.97.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, May 16th. The basic materials company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 11.99% and a net margin of 15.38%. Analysts predict that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current year.

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.