Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) Shares Sold by Todd Asset Management LLC

Todd Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 24.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 348,309 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 114,365 shares during the period. Todd Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile were worth $20,975,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SQM traded up $0.98 during trading on Friday, reaching $47.68. The company had a trading volume of 835,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,163,604. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. has a twelve month low of $38.50 and a twelve month high of $81.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $47.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.62 billion, a PE ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.2134 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $0.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SQM. Scotiabank cut their target price on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. TheStreet cut shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $52.00 to $62.80 in a report on Monday, April 8th. Two investment 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 a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.18.

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.