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

Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 106.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 99,108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 51,158 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $5,783,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,522,093 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $100,397,000 after buying an additional 16,298 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,165,367 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $66,368,000 after acquiring an additional 265,677 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,154,815 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $65,767,000 after acquiring an additional 146,192 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 43.5% during the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,036,191 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,462,000 after acquiring an additional 314,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 26.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 898,519 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $51,171,000 after acquiring an additional 187,130 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SMG opened at $59.03 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.98 and a beta of 1.88. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1-year low of $52.00 and a 1-year high of $72.35. The company’s fifty day moving average is $62.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.61.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $1.46 billion for 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 revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.98 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 147.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on SMG shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $76.00 price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.00.

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.