First Trust Advisors LP Has $9.35 Million Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 401.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 153,678 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 123,041 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $9,345,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SMG. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 127.9% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 889 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SMG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $75.20.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,171 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total value of $80,002.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 30,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,061,829.28. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 24.40% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 3.8%

Shares of SMG stock opened at $65.72 on Friday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1 year low of $52.00 and a 1 year high of $75.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $64.84 and its 200-day moving average is $64.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.15 and a beta of 1.81.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 2.19% and a negative return on equity of 81.90%. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.59 earnings per share. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

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

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.