Gabelli Funds LLC Boosts Stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 6.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $2,424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 18,313 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 135.2% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,337 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,592,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 7,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $446,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 10,300 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $768,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 31,000 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.67, for a total transaction of $2,159,770.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,746,012 shares in the company, valued at approximately $957,684,656.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 26.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of SMG traded up $2.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $70.61. The stock had a trading volume of 1,076,704 shares, compared to its average volume of 807,758. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1-year low of $43.67 and a 1-year high of $77.95. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.36. The company has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.32 and a beta of 1.76.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.36. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 10.14% and a negative return on equity of 20.97%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on SMG. Truist Financial lowered shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $75.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $83.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.67.

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.