Liontrust Investment Partners LLP Boosts Stock Holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM)

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP boosted its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 1,467.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 172,385 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 161,385 shares during the quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP owned 0.06% of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile worth $13,974,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the 1st quarter valued at about $626,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG grew its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 54.8% in the 1st quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 26,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,124,000 after purchasing an additional 9,280 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the first quarter worth $48,000. Accel Wealth Management purchased a new position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 266.7% during the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 6,006 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $486,000 after buying an additional 4,368 shares during the period. 14.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Trading Down 2.6 %

SQM stock traded down $1.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $59.29. The company had a trading volume of 1,214,674 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,486,637. The company has a market capitalization of $16.94 billion, a PE ratio of 4.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $70.21 and a 200 day moving average of $73.04. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. has a 12 month low of $59.13 and a 12 month high of $115.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 16th. The basic materials company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by ($0.59). The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a return on equity of 71.64% and a net margin of 34.41%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.01 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post 11.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 1st were issued a dividend of $0.5119 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 13th. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SQM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 18th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. HSBC lowered their target price on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $134.00 to $90.50 in a research note on Thursday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $97.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 21st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $73.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.39.

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.