The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG Holdings Cut by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 82,107 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 12,506 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $4,362,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Key Capital Management INC bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on SMG shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, May 4th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.67.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

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

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.97 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.98 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.