Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Reduces Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,194,451 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 74,938 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned 9.04% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $344,600,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter valued at $53,453,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,986,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,434,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 157.3% during the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 469,336 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $31,136,000 after acquiring an additional 286,962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 72.6% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 628,414 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $41,689,000 after acquiring an additional 264,369 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in 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. decreased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.83.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

NYSE SMG traded up $1.18 during trading on Thursday, reaching $61.01. 1,026,600 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 963,821. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12-month low of $45.61 and a 12-month high of $93.90. The firm has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -127.10 and a beta of 1.98. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $55.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.94.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.95 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 0.67% and a negative return on equity of 51.48%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.69 earnings per share. 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's payout ratio is 528.00%.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company 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.