The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG Shares Bought by Gamco Investors INC. ET AL

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 387,170 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,350 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $22,591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SMG. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 26.3% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,524 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,569 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 18.5% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 149,882 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,227,000 after purchasing an additional 23,446 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 34.6% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 4,745 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 71.2% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 247,749 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $16,342,000 after purchasing an additional 102,997 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the second quarter valued at approximately $309,000. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Mark J. Scheiwer acquired 693 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $71.44 per share, for a total transaction of $49,507.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,370 shares in the company, valued at $1,098,032.80. This represents a 4.72% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 24.40% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

NYSE SMG opened at $57.69 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a PE ratio of 32.23 and a beta of 1.88. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.38. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1-year low of $52.00 and a 1-year high of $72.35.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.97 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 79.61% and a net margin of 3.27%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.98 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 147.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Scotts Miracle-Gro from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.50.

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.