RWC Asset Management LLP Has $58.25 Million Stock Holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. $SQM

Key Points

• RWC Asset Management LLP cut its SQM stake by 24% in the fourth quarter, selling 267,197 shares. It still held 846,610 shares worth about $58.25 million, making SQM its 6th largest holding.
• Sociedad Quimica y Minera posted solid recent results, reporting $1.28 in quarterly EPS on $1.76 billion in revenue, with a net margin of 15.38%. Analysts expect the company to earn 7.25 EPS for the full year.
• The stock offers a high dividend yield but comes with mixed analyst sentiment. SQM recently paid a quarterly dividend of $1.0295 per share, implying a 5.4% annualized yield, while Wall Street’s consensus rating remains Hold with an average target price of $75.50.

RWC Asset Management LLP reduced its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM - Free Report) by 24.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 846,610 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 267,197 shares during the quarter. Sociedad Quimica y Minera makes up 2.9% of RWC Asset Management LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. RWC Asset Management LLP's holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera were worth $58,247,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 656 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 138.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 441 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,363 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $988,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 45.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,669 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $184,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Performance

SQM opened at $75.58 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.61. The company has a market capitalization of $21.59 billion, a PE ratio of 26.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.95. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a 1 year low of $31.90 and a 1 year high of $98.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 2.01.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Saturday, May 16th. The basic materials company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm 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%. Research analysts expect that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post 7.25 EPS for the current year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $1.0295 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Sociedad Quimica y Minera's dividend payout ratio is presently 92.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SQM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank raised their target price on 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. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $100.00 target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Sociedad Quimica y Minera from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $94.00 to $100.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. One investment 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sociedad Quimica y Minera currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $75.50.

About Sociedad Quimica y Minera

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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