KBC Group NV Sells 23,639 Shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. $SQM

KBC Group NV reduced its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM - Free Report) by 19.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 96,410 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 23,639 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV's holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera were worth $7,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Castle Hook Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 4th quarter worth about $69,257,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 87.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,239,588 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $53,278,000 after purchasing an additional 578,175 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,089,638 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $143,767,000 after purchasing an additional 413,246 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,973,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 62.7% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 799,201 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $54,985,000 after purchasing an additional 307,983 shares during the last quarter. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SQM. CLSA raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $74.58.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SQM opened at $69.43 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.83 billion, a PE ratio of 24.36, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $76.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.81. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a twelve month low of $35.67 and a twelve month high of $98.00.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, May 16th. The basic materials company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter. The company 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Company 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.

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