Banco Santander S.A. Sells 10,122 Shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. $SQM

Banco Santander S.A. reduced its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 38.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,429 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 10,122 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera were worth $706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 6,354 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 10.7% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,719 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 652 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 11.0% during the third quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 7,015 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 695 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 10.6% in the second quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 7,801 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 749 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC boosted its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 4.7% in the third quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 16,677 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $717,000 after acquiring an additional 754 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on SQM. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $79.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Citigroup cut shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Clarkson Capital reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group set a $79.00 price target on Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.79.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE SQM opened at $76.51 on Friday. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a 52-week low of $29.36 and a 52-week high of $86.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 2.82. The stock has a market cap of $21.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.81 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $75.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.82.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 currently 6.56%.

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.