Ethic Inc. Invests $535,000 in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Ethic Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 8,065 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $535,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 77.3% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 68.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 621 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SMG. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price target for the company from $72.00 to $69.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.83.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SMG traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $62.83. The company had a trading volume of 885,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 964,447. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12 month low of $45.61 and a 12 month high of $93.90. The stock has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -130.89 and a beta of 1.98. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $55.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.89.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.95 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.50 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 51.48% and a negative net margin of 0.67%. The firm's revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.69 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.20%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's payout ratio is currently 528.00%.

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.