Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires Shares of 77,306 Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. $SQM

Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 77,306 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $6,257,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,106,810 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $144,949,000 after purchasing an additional 195,142 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake 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 buying an additional 413,246 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,529,281 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $65,729,000 after buying an additional 69,177 shares in the last quarter. RWC Asset Advisors US LLC lifted its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. RWC Asset Advisors US LLC now owns 1,462,794 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $100,640,000 after buying an additional 230,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 87.4% in 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 buying an additional 578,175 shares during the last quarter. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Performance

Shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera stock opened at $68.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.58 billion, a PE ratio of 24.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 0.97. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $75.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.61. 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.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, May 16th. The basic materials company reported $1.28 EPS 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $105.00 to $93.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Sociedad Quimica y Minera from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from $94.00 to $100.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $64.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $73.58.

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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