Schroder Investment Management Group Grows Stock Holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM)

Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM – Get Rating) by 51.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 697,560 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 238,014 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group owned approximately 0.24% of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile worth $55,693,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SQM. Concord Wealth Partners purchased a new position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Huntington National Bank purchased a new position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 265.5% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 413 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 18.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $134.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $113.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Monday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in a research note on Friday, May 19th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.25.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Performance

SQM stock traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $66.22. 73,029 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,887,995. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. has a 52-week low of $60.21 and a 52-week high of $115.76. The stock has a market cap of $18.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.89, a PEG ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.48, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $73.68 and its 200 day moving average is $84.00.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 2nd. The basic materials company reported $4.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.23. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a net margin of 35.24% and a return on equity of 82.96%. The business had revenue of $3.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.17 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post 12.45 EPS for the current year.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 12th were given a dividend of $3.2237 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 11th. This represents a $12.89 annualized dividend and a yield of 19.47%. This is a positive change from Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.98%.

About Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile

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Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SA engages in the production and distribution of fertilizers, potassium nitrate, iodine, and lithium chemicals. It operates through the following segments: Specialty Plant Nutrients, Iodine and Derivatives, Lithium and Derivatives, Industrial Chemicals, Potassium, and Other Products and Services.