The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Shares Purchased by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 55.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,808 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,081 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 24.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,726,338 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $203,359,000 after purchasing an additional 542,406 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 18.2% during the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,113,153 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $232,210,000 after buying an additional 479,315 shares in the last quarter. Interval Partners LP raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 3,581.1% in the first quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 478,546 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,695,000 after buying an additional 465,546 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,699,000. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $12,482,000. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 3.5 %

NYSE:SMG opened at $71.78 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.50 and a beta of 1.76. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $67.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.15. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a fifty-two week low of $43.67 and a fifty-two week high of $82.11.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.42. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 41.19% and a negative net margin of 7.38%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -42.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SMG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.00.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 2,988 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total value of $211,938.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,689,665.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 2,988 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total transaction of $211,938.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,689,665.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 85,130 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total transaction of $6,038,270.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,608,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $965,232,321.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 89,078 shares of company stock worth $6,325,042. Company insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

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.