LRI Investments LLC Sells 1,736 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

LRI Investments LLC lessened its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 50.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,673 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,736 shares during the quarter. LRI Investments LLC’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $92,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 21.9% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 3,819 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 685 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 31.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,614 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $226,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,684,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,011,000. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of SMG stock opened at $69.20 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 138.39 and a beta of 2.01. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52 week low of $45.61 and a 52 week high of $93.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $62.33 and a 200-day moving average of $61.69.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.95 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 1.04% and a negative return on equity of 56.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.69 EPS. Analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 528.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.00.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and sells products for lawn, garden care, and indoor and hydroponic gardening in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S. Consumer, Hawthorne, and Other. The company provides lawn care products, comprising lawn fertilizers, grass seed products, spreaders, and other durable products, as well as lawn-related weed, pest, and disease control products; and gardening and landscape products, which include water-soluble and continuous-release plant foods, potting mixes, garden soils, mulches and ground cover products, plant-related pest and disease control products, organic garden products, and live goods and seeding solutions.