BIT Capital GmbH Takes $1.64 Million Position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. $SQM

BIT Capital GmbH bought a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 23,769 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,635,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SQM. Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 81.9% in the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,911,668 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $82,163,000 after buying an additional 860,984 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 62.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,676,392 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,051,000 after buying an additional 644,129 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 277.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 817,223 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,124,000 after buying an additional 600,975 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,828,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 87.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,239,588 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,278,000 after buying an additional 578,175 shares during the period. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera stock opened at $75.58 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a 12 month low of $31.90 and a 12 month high of $98.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.49. The stock has a market cap of $21.59 billion, a PE ratio of 26.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 0.95.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, May 16th. The basic materials company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 11.99% and a net margin of 15.38%.The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter. Research analysts predict that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post 7.25 EPS for the current year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $1.0295 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s payout ratio is 92.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SQM shares. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. CLSA raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Friday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $100.00 target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Sociedad Quimica y Minera from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $94.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.50.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera 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.