Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC Grows Stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC lifted its position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 20.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,245 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,263 shares during the quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $1,709,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 477.9% in the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 549 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 479.4% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 562 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on SMG. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $72.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.17.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of SMG stock traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $69.29. 692,150 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 961,601. The company has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 138.58 and a beta of 2.01. The company's 50 day moving average is $62.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.69. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1 year low of $45.61 and a 1 year high of $93.90.

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

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.