NFJ Investment Group LLC Takes $2.66 Million Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

NFJ Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 45,534 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,657,000. NFJ Investment Group LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Scotts Miracle-Gro at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 39,998 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,334,000 after purchasing an additional 4,097 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth approximately $365,000. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC now owns 49,056 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,862,000 after purchasing an additional 4,652 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 40,308 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,351,000 after purchasing an additional 2,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 37.6% during the 4th quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 189,677 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,068,000 after purchasing an additional 51,872 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 note on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.67.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

SMG stock opened at $61.71 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.47 and a beta of 1.84. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a one year low of $52.00 and a one year high of $72.35. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $61.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.89.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.97 by $0.56. The firm 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%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.98 EPS. Research analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 147.49%.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company 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.