Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro Co (NYSE:SMG) by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 123,595 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 6,481 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.22% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $16,620,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SMG. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 103.0% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 777,813 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $79,648,000 after acquiring an additional 394,650 shares during the period. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC purchased a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the second quarter worth $46,955,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 11.9% during the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,271,995 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $437,868,000 after buying an additional 347,094 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,219,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,758,410 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $639,863,000 after buying an additional 194,885 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.86% of the company’s stock.
SMG stock opened at $146.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Scotts Miracle-Gro Co has a 1 year low of $76.50 and a 1 year high of $176.08. The company has a market cap of $8.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.79 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $161.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.12.
Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $3.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 8.71%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s revenue was up 27.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.11 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Scotts Miracle-Gro Co will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current year.
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 27th were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. This is a positive change from Scotts Miracle-Gro’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 26th. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is 55.48%.
In related news, Director John R. Vines sold 1,491 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.79, for a total transaction of $235,264.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,562,752.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Katherine Littlefield Hagedorn sold 289 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.24, for a total transaction of $37,639.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $778,835.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,252 shares of company stock worth $3,547,781 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 28.20% of the company’s stock.
A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. SunTrust Banks boosted their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $128.50.
About Scotts Miracle-Gro
The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company manufactures, markets, and sells consumer lawn and garden products in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: U.S. Consumer, Hawthorne, and Other. It offers lawn care products, such as lawn fertilizers, grass seed products, spreaders, other durable products, and outdoor cleaners, as well as lawn-related weed, pest, and disease control products.
Recommended Story: Stock Selection – What is cash flow?
Receive News & Ratings for Scotts Miracle-Gro Daily – Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts’ ratings for Scotts Miracle-Gro and related companies with MarketBeat.com’s FREE daily email newsletter.
