Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. $SQM Holdings Cut by Robeco Schweiz AG

Key Points

• Robeco Schweiz AG reduced its SQM stake by 10.2% in the third quarter, selling 57,000 shares and retaining 499,152 shares valued at approximately $32.4 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 12.41% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with SQM receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $86.12, despite several analysts lowering or maintaining their targets.
• SQM reported strong quarterly results, including $2.31 in EPS and $2.47 billion in revenue, with revenue rising 136.7% year over year. The company also paid a special dividend of $1.435 per share.

Robeco Schweiz AG cut its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM - Free Report) by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 499,152 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 57,000 shares during the period. Robeco Schweiz AG owned approximately 0.17% of Sociedad Quimica y Minera worth $32,380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQM. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $50,183,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 602.0% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 502,484 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $40,671,000 after purchasing an additional 430,900 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 35.5% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,337,746 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $86,780,000 after purchasing an additional 350,573 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the first quarter worth approximately $21,297,000. Finally, ABN Amro Investment Solutions raised its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 87.1% during the first quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 265,677 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $21,504,000 after purchasing an additional 123,700 shares during the last quarter. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $94.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $93.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.12.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of SQM stock opened at $57.14 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $69.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.75. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a 1-year low of $43.35 and a 1-year high of $98.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.96.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 14th. The basic materials company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.28. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 20.62%. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. Sociedad Quimica y Minera's revenue was up 136.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th were paid a $1.4350 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 8th. Sociedad Quimica y Minera's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.85%.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Company Profile

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA NYSE: SQM, commonly known as SQM, is a Chilean chemical and mining company headquartered in Santiago. Founded in 1968, the company develops and produces specialty chemicals and plant nutrients from mineral resources in northern Chile.

SQM is one of the world's major producers of lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, which are used in rechargeable batteries and other industrial applications. The company also produces iodine and iodine derivatives, potassium chloride, potassium sulfate, industrial chemicals, and specialty plant nutrition products.

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