Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (The) (SMG) Shares Bought by Alpha Cubed Investments LLC

Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (The) (NYSE:SMG) by 248.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,241 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 13,727 shares during the period. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (The) were worth $1,721,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SMG. FNY Managed Accounts LLC bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (The) during the first quarter valued at approximately $103,000. Ropes Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (The) during the first quarter valued at approximately $121,000. Glen Harbor Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (The) by 2.4% in the first quarter. Glen Harbor Capital Management LLC now owns 1,392 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (The) by 4.3% in the first quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,451 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $135,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Acrospire Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (The) during the first quarter valued at approximately $149,000. 66.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (SMG) opened at 94.66 on Friday. Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52-week low of $78.73 and a 52-week high of $99.91. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $94.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.72. The stock has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 25.54 and a beta of 0.40.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (The) (NYSE:SMG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.12. Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (The) had a return on equity of 36.28% and a net margin of 7.85%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post $4.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 8th. Investors of record on Friday, August 25th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 23rd. This is a boost from Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (The)’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (The)’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.49%.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BidaskClub upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (The) from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (The) from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (The) presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.00.

In related news, insider Michael C. Lukemire sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.14, for a total value of $1,730,520.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,969 shares in the company, valued at $2,304,379.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman James Hagedorn sold 92,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.41, for a total value of $8,904,138.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 115,867 shares in the company, valued at $11,170,737.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 190,859 shares of company stock worth $18,326,133 over the last quarter. 28.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (The)

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (Scotts Miracle-Gro) is a manufacturer and marketer of branded consumer lawn and garden products. The Company’s segments include Global Consumer. In North America, its brands include Scotts and Turf Builder lawn and grass seed products; Miracle-Gro, Nature’s Care, Scotts, LiquaFeed and Osmocote gardening and landscape products; and Ortho, Roundup, Home Defense and Tomcat branded insect control, weed control and rodent control products.