Madison Asset Management LLC Sells 7,585 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Madison Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 6.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 105,013 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 7,585 shares during the quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $6,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,522,093 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $100,397,000 after buying an additional 16,298 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 265,677 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 2,899 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 51,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 26.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 898,519 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $51,171,000 after acquiring an additional 187,130 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

SMG stock opened at $68.49 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $63.08 and its 200-day moving average is $63.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a PE ratio of 38.27 and a beta of 1.81. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1 year low of $52.00 and a 1 year high of $75.34.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.97 by $0.56. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 79.61% and a net margin of 3.27%.The firm had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.98 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SMG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Scotts Miracle-Gro from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.00.

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.