Norges Bank Makes New Investment in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 558,604 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,595,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 157.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 584 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 156.7% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 634 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 127.9% during the 4th 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 during the period. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Stifel Nicolaus cut 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. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $79.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, May 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.67.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SMG opened at $57.54 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.15 and a beta of 1.84. The business’s 50-day moving average is $61.16 and its 200-day moving average is $61.68. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1 year low of $52.00 and a 1 year high of $72.35.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.97 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 79.61% and a net margin of 3.27%.The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.98 EPS. Analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.37 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is currently 147.49%.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

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.