Econ Financial Services Corp Acquires Shares of 24,352 The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Econ Financial Services Corp acquired a new stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 24,352 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,481,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 4,690 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 5,077 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 39,479 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,604,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5.1% during the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 6,796 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 5,906 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the period. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, March 26th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $79.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, May 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.67.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

SMG opened at $69.96 on Friday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a fifty-two week low of $52.00 and a fifty-two week high of $72.35. The company has a market capitalization of $4.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.08 and a beta of 1.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $61.65 and a 200-day moving average of $62.50.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.97 by $0.56. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 3.27% and a negative return on equity of 79.61%. The company had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.98 earnings per share. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is currently 147.49%.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Profile

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.