Mezzasalma Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM)

Mezzasalma Advisors LLC cut its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) by 31.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 14,632 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 6,867 shares during the quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile were worth $719,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 688.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 878,933 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the fourth quarter worth about $30,572,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 9.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 172,908 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the third quarter worth about $9,794,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the fourth quarter worth about $8,076,000. 12.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Performance

NYSE:SQM traded up $1.70 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $42.25. 695,375 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 961,112. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 15.31 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $45.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 1.61. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. has a twelve month low of $38.50 and a twelve month high of $81.50.

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

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a $0.2134 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $0.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile’s payout ratio is currently 41.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SQM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $54.50 to $46.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $62.80 in a report on Monday, April 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.78.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Company 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.