Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) Shares Sold by Clarity Capital Partners LLC

Clarity Capital Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 61.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,060 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 9,611 shares during the period. Clarity Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile were worth $298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the third quarter worth $9,794,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,992,151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $120,387,000 after buying an additional 172,908 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 688.4% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,006,607 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $60,618,000 after buying an additional 878,933 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management increased its position in 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 worth $691,000 after buying an additional 1,187 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 1,490.9% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 87,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,269,000 after buying an additional 82,000 shares during the period. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Price Performance

SQM stock traded up $1.39 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $41.62. 950,636 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,265,135. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. has a one year low of $38.50 and a one year high of $81.50. The company has a market cap of $11.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.94, a P/E/G ratio of 15.67 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.88.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The basic materials company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.72) by $2.52. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a return on equity of 30.74% and a net margin of 6.25%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were given a $0.2134 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SQM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $54.50 to $46.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $62.80 in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.81.

About Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile

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.