Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. $SQM Shares Sold by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP cut its SQM stake by 9.2% in the first quarter, selling 40,134 shares and retaining 398,095 shares worth approximately $32.2 million.
• Other institutional investors were broadly active, with Legal & General and Vanguard increasing their positions while Premier Fund Managers and BW Gestao de Investimentos initiated new stakes. Institutional investors collectively own 12.41% of SQM.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: SQM carries an overall “Hold” rating with an average price target of $73.58. The stock opened at $68.72, while the company recently reported quarterly revenue of $1.76 billion and EPS of $1.28.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM - Free Report) by 9.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 398,095 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 40,134 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.14% of Sociedad Quimica y Minera worth $32,231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 7,083.3% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 289,701 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $19,931,000 after purchasing an additional 285,668 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 649,528 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $44,688,000 after purchasing an additional 27,035 shares during the last quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the fourth quarter worth about $9,801,000. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. purchased a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $19,488,000. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 420,262 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $28,914,000 after buying an additional 27,230 shares during the last quarter. 12.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $64.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. CLSA upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $94.00 to $100.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $73.58.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Trading Up 2.5%

SQM stock opened at $68.72 on Wednesday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $74.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.33. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a 52-week low of $35.74 and a 52-week high of $98.00. The firm has a market cap of $19.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.11, a PEG ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 0.98.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Saturday, May 16th. The basic materials company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 11.99% and a net margin of 15.38%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal 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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