Nomura Holdings Inc. Makes New Investment in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 5,655 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $375,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 3,134 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter valued at about $9,684,000. Caprock Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,046 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter worth about $1,261,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on SMG. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $72.00 to $69.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.83.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:SMG traded down $0.07 on Wednesday, reaching $60.48. 89,797 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,147,330. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a fifty-two week low of $45.61 and a fifty-two week high of $93.90. The business's 50-day moving average is $55.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -126.10 and a beta of 1.98.

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

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's payout ratio is 528.00%.

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.