The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG Shares Purchased by Gabelli Funds LLC

Gabelli Funds LLC increased its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 17.8% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 88,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,300 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $5,357,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:SMG opened at $69.89 on Tuesday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a fifty-two week low of $52.00 and a fifty-two week high of $75.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $63.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.04. The stock has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.05 and a beta of 1.81.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.3 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SMG has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro 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.