The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG Shares Bought by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 106.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 99,108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 51,158 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC owned about 0.17% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $5,783,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 12,034.5% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,008,623 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $66,529,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,311 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 458.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 822,743 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $54,268,000 after acquiring an additional 675,493 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 163.0% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 899,690 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $59,344,000 after acquiring an additional 557,647 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1,260.1% in the second quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 489,227 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,269,000 after acquiring an additional 453,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter valued at about $25,134,000. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of SMG opened at $59.03 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.98 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a 50-day moving average of $62.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.61. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12-month low of $52.00 and a 12-month high of $72.35.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.97 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 3.27% and a negative return on equity of 79.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.98 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is presently 147.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SMG has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $70.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.00.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is a leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of consumer lawn and garden products. The firm serves both retail and professional customers through an array of branded offerings that include lawn fertilizers, grass seed, pest and disease control solutions, plant foods and specialty products for indoor and outdoor gardening. Its portfolio spans well-known names such as Scotts®, Miracle-Gro®, Ortho® and various hydroponic and specialty garden brands.

Headquartered in Marysville, Ohio, the company traces its roots to O.M.