Todd Asset Management LLC Sells 114,365 Shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM)

Todd Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 24.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. 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 owned about 0.12% of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile worth $20,975,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SQM. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the third quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,253 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,414 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 39.5% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 2,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $144,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anfield Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the third quarter worth about $201,000. Institutional investors own 12.41% of the company’s stock.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Trading Up 2.1 %

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

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.51). Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a return on equity of 37.86% and a net margin of 26.95%. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.03 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.2134 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $0.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile’s payout ratio is currently 18.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TheStreet lowered Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $62.80 in a research report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Two 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.18.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile 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.