Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Raises Stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 1.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,201,683 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 49,262 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned about 9.15% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $338,421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 72.6% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 42,928 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,202,000 after acquiring an additional 18,060 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 18.4% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 230,616 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,218,000 after purchasing an additional 35,825 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 155.1% in the first quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 37,172 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,773,000 after buying an additional 22,599 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 309.5% during the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 215,717 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,035,000 after buying an additional 163,037 shares during the period. Finally, Carmignac Gestion purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth about $3,411,000. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

SMG stock opened at $73.95 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.85 and a beta of 1.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $70.16 and its 200 day moving average is $68.68. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52 week low of $43.67 and a 52 week high of $82.11.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 41.19% and a negative net margin of 7.38%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.62 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is currently -42.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 960 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.95, for a total transaction of $74,832.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 22,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,788,173. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 85,130 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total value of $6,038,270.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,608,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $965,232,321.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 960 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.95, for a total transaction of $74,832.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 22,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,788,173. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 89,078 shares of company stock worth $6,325,042 over the last three months. Company insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.00.

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.