Quarry LP Makes New Investment in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,770 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $115,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 24.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,726,338 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $203,359,000 after acquiring an additional 542,406 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 194.2% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 761,063 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,515,000 after purchasing an additional 502,353 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 18.2% during the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,113,153 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $232,210,000 after buying an additional 479,315 shares in the last quarter. Interval Partners LP lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 3,581.1% in the 1st quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 478,546 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,695,000 after buying an additional 465,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 309.5% in the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 215,717 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,035,000 after buying an additional 163,037 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $86.71 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $72.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.54. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52-week low of $43.67 and a 52-week high of $88.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.90 and a beta of 1.75.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 7.38% and a negative return on equity of 41.19%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -42.31%.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 960 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.95, for a total transaction of $74,832.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,940 shares in the company, valued at $1,788,173. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 85,130 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro 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 $6,038,270.90. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,608,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $965,232,321.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 960 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.95, for a total value of $74,832.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 22,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,788,173. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 89,078 shares of company stock worth $6,325,042. 26.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SMG has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target 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 boosted their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.00.

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.