Todd Asset Management LLC Sells 114,365 Shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM)

Todd Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM - Free Report) by 24.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 348,309 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 114,365 shares during the period. Todd Asset Management LLC owned about 0.12% of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile worth $20,975,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 42,805 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,577,000 after acquiring an additional 1,277 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management increased its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 11,481 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $691,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187 shares in the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp raised its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 16,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $963,000 after buying an additional 3,640 shares during the period. Anfield Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 4,123 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 9,293 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $564,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SQM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $54.50 to $46.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. TheStreet downgraded Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a "b-" rating to a "c" rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $52.00 to $62.80 in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $65.18.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile stock traded up $0.98 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $47.68. 835,356 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,163,604. The company has a market cap of $13.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 1.10. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. has a 52 week low of $38.50 and a 52 week high of $81.50. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $47.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 2.49.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.51). Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a return on equity of 37.86% and a net margin of 26.95%. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.03 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.2134 dividend. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile's payout ratio is 18.30%.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Company Profile

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA produces and distributes specialty plant nutrients, iodine derivatives, lithium derivatives, potassium chloride and sulfate, industrial chemicals, and other products and services. The company offers specialty plant nutrients, including potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate, sodium potassium nitrate, specialty blends, and other specialty fertilizers.