Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. Purchases Shares of 22,939 The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 22,939 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,338,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SMG. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 3rd quarter worth $1,355,000. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 101.4% in the 3rd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 41,408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,358,000 after purchasing an additional 20,843 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 155,498 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,856,000 after purchasing an additional 27,422 shares during the last quarter. SG Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,032,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 46.6% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 230,966 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,692,000 after purchasing an additional 73,455 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 3.9%

Shares of NYSE:SMG opened at $56.47 on Wednesday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a fifty-two week low of $52.00 and a fifty-two week high of $72.35. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.65. The company has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of 31.54 and a beta of 1.84.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.97 by $0.56. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 3.27% and a negative return on equity of 79.61%. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.98 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is presently 147.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SMG shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $76.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.83.

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.