Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) Shares Acquired by Earnest Partners LLC

Earnest Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM - Free Report) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,071,339 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,748 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC owned 0.38% of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile worth $38,954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the fourth quarter worth $120,395,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 28.4% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 804,913 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,267,000 after buying an additional 177,898 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 3,302,897 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $120,093,000 after buying an additional 177,323 shares during the last quarter. Peregrine Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the fourth quarter worth about $5,505,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 1,416.8% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 141,214 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,135,000 after acquiring an additional 131,904 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.41% of the company's stock.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Up 0.3 %

SQM traded up $0.09 on Friday, reaching $34.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 685,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,078,333. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 2.94 and a quick ratio of 2.05. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. has a 1 year low of $31.27 and a 1 year high of $50.73. The business's 50 day moving average is $38.36 and its 200 day moving average is $38.62. The stock has a market cap of $9.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 0.99.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a positive return on equity of 16.12% and a negative net margin of 6.74%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post -1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA operates as a mining company worldwide. The company offers specialty plant nutrients, including sodium potassium nitrate, specialty blends, and other specialty fertilizers under Ultrasol, Qrop, Speedfol, Allganic, Ultrasoline, ProP, and Prohydric brands. It also provides iodine and its derivatives for use in medical, agricultural, industrial, and human and animal nutrition products comprising x-ray contrast media, biocides, antiseptics and disinfectants, pharmaceutical intermediates, polarizing films for LCD and LED screens, chemicals, organic compounds, and pigments, as well as added to edible salt to prevent iodine deficiency disorders.