Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 72,179 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 8.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 895,841 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 72,179 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $54,475,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position 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 worth $413,000 after buying an additional 1,569 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 18.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 23,446 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,219 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 102,997 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 2nd quarter worth about $309,000. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on SMG shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group boosted their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen cut Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.20.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

SMG stock opened at $65.72 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $64.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.27. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1-year low of $52.00 and a 1-year high of $75.34. The company has a market capitalization of $3.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.15 and a beta of 1.81.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 81.90% and a net margin of 2.19%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.59 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 229.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,171 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total transaction of $80,002.72. Following the sale, the director owned 30,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,061,829.28. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 24.40% of the company’s stock.

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.