Sowell Financial Services LLC Takes Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,126 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 42,303 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,807,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Investment House LLC increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Investment House LLC now owns 61,190 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,059,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,664 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 77.3% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, Commerce Bank lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 12,530 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $831,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $70.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their target price for the company from $72.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, UBS Group lowered 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $67.67.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

SMG opened at $61.92 on Monday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $57.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.10. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52-week low of $45.61 and a 52-week high of $93.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.57 billion, a PE ratio of 123.84 and a beta of 1.99.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.95 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 56.15% and a net margin of 1.04%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.69 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.

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