The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Shares Sold by Blair William & Co. IL

Blair William & Co. IL reduced its stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 14.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 237,264 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 41,651 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $15,740,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter valued at $44,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 77.3% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. 74.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of SMG opened at $54.66 on Friday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a fifty-two week low of $54.44 and a fifty-two week high of $93.90. The company has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of -113.88 and a beta of 1.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $64.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.39.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.23) by $0.34. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 51.48% and a negative net margin of 0.67%. During the same period last year, the business posted ($1.45) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is currently -550.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.56, for a total transaction of $10,213,973.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 88,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,319,463.60. The trade was a 61.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Hagedorn sold 3,568 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $255,112.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,001,998. The trade was a 5.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 159,937 shares of company stock worth $11,379,275 in the last quarter. 25.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SMG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.00.

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.