Peregrine Capital Management LLC Purchases Shares of 79,000 The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Peregrine Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 79,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,804,000. Peregrine Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Scotts Miracle-Gro as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 101.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 20,843 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 155,498 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,856,000 after purchasing an additional 27,422 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 46.6% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 230,966 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,692,000 after purchasing an additional 73,455 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,154,815 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $65,767,000 after buying an additional 146,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 223.3% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 29,239 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,706,000 after buying an additional 20,196 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

NYSE SMG opened at $68.65 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.99 billion, a PE ratio of 38.35 and a beta of 1.81. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a one year low of $52.00 and a one year high of $72.35. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.87.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.97 by $0.56. The firm 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.98 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is currently 147.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on SMG. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.67.

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.