The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG Holdings Raised by Bleakley Financial Group LLC

Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 42.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 38,285 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,421 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $2,328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SMG. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 18.5% during the 1st 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 worth $8,227,000 after purchasing an additional 23,446 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 34.6% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 4,745 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 71.2% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 247,749 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,342,000 after purchasing an additional 102,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 2nd quarter valued at about $309,000. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 7.7%

Shares of SMG stock opened at $73.25 on Friday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12 month low of $52.00 and a 12 month high of $75.30. The company has a market cap of $4.26 billion, a PE ratio of 40.92 and a beta of 1.81. The business’s 50 day moving average is $62.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.54.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.97 by $0.56. The business 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%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 147.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SMG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $79.00 price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company 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.