BNP Paribas Financial Markets Has $7.51 Million Stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. $SQM

BNP Paribas Financial Markets trimmed its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 57.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,160 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 145,236 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera were worth $7,510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 81.9% in the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,911,668 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $82,163,000 after acquiring an additional 860,984 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 62.4% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,676,392 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,051,000 after acquiring an additional 644,129 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 4.7% in the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,529,281 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $65,729,000 after acquiring an additional 69,177 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 87.4% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,239,588 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $53,278,000 after acquiring an additional 578,175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 277.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 817,223 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,124,000 after acquiring an additional 600,975 shares during the last quarter. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Up 4.1%

Shares of NYSE SQM opened at $75.76 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.79. The firm has a market cap of $21.64 billion, a PE ratio of 26.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.20 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) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, May 16th. The basic materials company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 15.38% and a return on equity of 11.99%. On average, research analysts forecast that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post 7.25 EPS for the current year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $1.0295 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Zacks Research cut shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. CLSA raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.50.

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.