The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Shares Acquired by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 8.0% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 79,248 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 5,902 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $5,911,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SMG. Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 135.2% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth about $76,000. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

NYSE SMG opened at $61.10 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.11. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a one year low of $43.67 and a one year high of $77.95. The firm has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.79 and a beta of 1.76.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 10.14% and a negative return on equity of 20.97%. The firm’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.32%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -42.31%.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 31,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.67, for a total value of $2,159,770.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,746,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $957,684,656.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 26.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SMG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Truist Financial lowered shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Profile

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and sells products for lawn, garden care, and indoor and hydroponic gardening in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S. Consumer, Hawthorne, and Other. The company provides lawn care products, comprising lawn fertilizers, grass seed products, spreaders, and other durable products, as well as lawn-related weed, pest, and disease control products; and gardening and landscape products, which include water-soluble and continuous-release plant foods, potting mixes, garden soils, mulches and ground cover products, plant-related pest and disease control products, organic garden products, and live goods and seeding solutions.