Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. $SQM Shares Acquired by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 10,523.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 308,603 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 305,698 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera were worth $21,232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 138.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the third quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Trading Down 2.6%

NYSE SQM opened at $80.48 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.83. Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. has a 52 week low of $29.36 and a 52 week high of $98.00. The stock has a market cap of $22.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.26, a PEG ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.00.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The basic materials company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 12.85% and a return on equity of 9.69%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter. On average, research analysts expect that Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $1.0295 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s payout ratio is presently 130.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sociedad Quimica y Minera currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.42.

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.