Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Boosts Stock Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 899.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 54,053 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,644 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $3,154,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter valued at $1,355,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 21.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 155,498 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,856,000 after buying an additional 27,422 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 101.4% in the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 41,408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,358,000 after buying an additional 20,843 shares during the last quarter. SG Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter worth $3,032,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 46.6% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 230,966 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,692,000 after buying an additional 73,455 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:SMG opened at $59.23 on Tuesday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a twelve month low of $52.00 and a twelve month high of $72.35. The company has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.09 and a beta of 1.88. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.55.

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

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is presently 147.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SMG shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $76.00 price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $79.00 price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.50.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

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.