16,049 Shares in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. $SQM Acquired by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 16,049 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $690,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQM. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 5.6% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 6,354 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 153.0% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 969 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 7,801 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $275,000 after buying an additional 749 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC raised its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 16,677 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $717,000 after buying an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 17.9% in the 2nd quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 6,320 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 960 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Trading Down 6.0%

Shares of NYSE SQM opened at $76.72 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a 12 month low of $29.36 and a 12 month high of $86.13. The company has a market cap of $23.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.92 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.02.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 18th. The basic materials company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.06). Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 9.79% and a net margin of 12.12%.The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post -1.31 EPS for the current year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 30th were given a $0.1236 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 30th. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s dividend payout ratio is 6.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Friday, October 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group set a $79.00 price objective on Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.79.

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.