Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Lowers Holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Key Points

• Segall Bryant & Hamill cut its Scotts Miracle-Gro stake by 71.1% in the first quarter, selling 134,793 shares and retaining 54,884 shares valued at approximately $3.34 million. Institutional investors collectively own 74.07% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $75.40. Wells Fargo and UBS raised their targets to $77 and $78, respectively, while Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock to Hold.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro reported quarterly EPS of $2.82, beating estimates of $2.48, while revenue reached $1.17 billion, up 1.1% year over year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66, representing a 3.9% annualized yield.

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC trimmed its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 71.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,884 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 134,793 shares during the quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC owned 0.09% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $3,337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SMG. Kestrel Investment Management Corp bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 1st quarter worth about $2,390,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 46.6% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 230,966 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $14,692,000 after purchasing an additional 73,455 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 223.3% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 29,239 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,706,000 after purchasing an additional 20,196 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 387,170 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $22,591,000 after buying an additional 34,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 154.9% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 51,956 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,159,000 after buying an additional 31,570 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SMG shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Friday. UBS Group upped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $79.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $75.40.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 4.2%

Shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $68.46 on Tuesday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a twelve month low of $52.00 and a twelve month high of $75.34. The company's 50 day moving average is $65.02 and its 200 day moving average is $64.33. The company has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.53 and a beta of 1.82.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 2.19% and a negative return on equity of 81.90%. The firm's revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.59 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 229.57%.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,171 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total value of $80,002.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 30,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,061,829.28. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 24.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Profile

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is a leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of consumer lawn and garden products. The firm serves both retail and professional customers through an array of branded offerings that include lawn fertilizers, grass seed, pest and disease control solutions, plant foods and specialty products for indoor and outdoor gardening. Its portfolio spans well-known names such as Scotts®, Miracle-Gro®, Ortho® and various hydroponic and specialty garden brands.

Headquartered in Marysville, Ohio, the company traces its roots to O.M.

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