4,100 Shares in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) Purchased by BCS Wealth Management

BCS Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 4,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New York State Common Retirement Fund bought a new stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the third quarter worth about $262,000. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 14.8% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 8,678 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $519,000 after buying an additional 1,119 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 39.5% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 2,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $144,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 3.4% in the third quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 29,261 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,746,000 after buying an additional 949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 102,859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,138,000 after acquiring an additional 4,716 shares during the last quarter. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Performance

Shares of SQM stock opened at $40.77 on Friday. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $38.50 and a fifty-two week high of $81.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $46.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market cap of $11.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.33, a PEG ratio of 15.25 and a beta of 1.05.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 23rd. The basic materials company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.72) by $2.52. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 30.74%. Analysts predict that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a $0.2134 dividend. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SQM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $54.50 to $46.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.78.

About Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA produces and distributes specialty plant nutrients, iodine derivatives, lithium derivatives, potassium chloride and sulfate, industrial chemicals, and other products and services. The company offers specialty plant nutrients, including potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate, sodium potassium nitrate, specialty blends, and other specialty fertilizers.