Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. Purchases 5,535 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 29.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,360 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,535 shares during the quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $1,337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SMG. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter valued at $2,139,000. AGF Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter valued at $2,124,000. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 83,900 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,566,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter valued at $6,399,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

NYSE:SMG traded up $0.95 on Wednesday, hitting $67.95. 531,625 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 954,007. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52 week low of $45.61 and a 52 week high of $93.90. The company has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 135.90 and a beta of 2.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $63.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.80.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.95 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 1.04% and a negative return on equity of 56.15%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.69 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's payout ratio is currently 528.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SMG. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $72.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy 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 $69.00.

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.