The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG Shares Acquired by Bank of America Corp DE

Key Points

• Bank of America increased its Scotts Miracle-Gro stake by 16.4% in the first quarter, holding 658,602 shares worth approximately $40.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 74.07% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook, with a consensus “Hold” rating and a $75.40 target price. Recent ratings included price-target increases from Wells Fargo and UBS, alongside a downgrade from “Buy” to “Hold” by Wall Street Zen.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.82 EPS versus $2.48 expected, while revenue rose 1.1% year over year to $1.17 billion. The company also declared a $0.66 quarterly dividend, yielding about 4.3% annually.

Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 16.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 658,602 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 92,614 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 1.13% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $40,050,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,522,093 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $100,397,000 after purchasing an additional 16,298 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 161.1% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,289,974 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $78,443,000 after purchasing an additional 795,970 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,165,367 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $66,368,000 after purchasing an additional 265,677 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,157,714 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $67,553,000 after purchasing an additional 2,899 shares during the period. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,087,339 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $66,121,000 after purchasing an additional 51,148 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on SMG shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $75.40.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark D. Kingdon sold 831 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total value of $51,231.15. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at $667,484.55. This represents a 7.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.45, for a total value of $2,023,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 13,137,641 shares of the company's stock, valued at $886,133,885.45. This trade represents a 0.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 32,002 shares of company stock valued at $2,154,734. Insiders own 24.40% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

SMG opened at $61.79 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.73 and a beta of 1.82. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a one year low of $52.00 and a one year high of $75.34. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $65.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.32.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.34. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 81.90% and a net margin of 2.19%.The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.59 EPS. The business's revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.39 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, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 229.57%.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SMG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source