The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG Shares Acquired by Brandes Investment Partners LP

Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 362.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 737,546 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 578,174 shares during the quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $43,036,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SMG. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 26.3% in the first 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 in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 18.5% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 34.6% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 71.2% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the second quarter worth about $309,000. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SMG shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings reiterated 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 cut their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.67.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 3.7%

Shares of NYSE SMG opened at $59.63 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $61.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.72. 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 capitalization of $3.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.31 and a beta of 1.84.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.97 by $0.56. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 3.27% and a negative return on equity of 79.61%. The firm had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.98 earnings per share. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is 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.