Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 13.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 82,107 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 12,506 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned 0.14% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $4,362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SMG. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 26.3% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,524 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,569 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in 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 during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in 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 during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in 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 during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 2nd quarter worth $309,000. 74.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE SMG opened at $57.54 on Tuesday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52 week low of $52.00 and a 52 week high of $72.35. The stock has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.15 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $61.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.68.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 147.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SMG shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.67.

Scotts Miracle-Gro 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.