The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Shares Sold by Truist Financial Corp

Truist Financial Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 11.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,562 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 10,643 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp owned about 0.15% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $5,391,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,640,383 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $239,815,000 after purchasing an additional 35,002 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.2% in the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,711,024 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $140,106,000 after buying an additional 108,593 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 13.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,011,906 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $52,295,000 after buying an additional 119,115 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 903,974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $46,717,000 after buying an additional 143,326 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 62.9% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 595,995 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,801,000 after acquiring an additional 230,155 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $70.54 on Monday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1 year low of $43.67 and a 1 year high of $77.95. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.18.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 20.97% and a negative net margin of 10.14%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is -42.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SMG has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Truist Financial lowered shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $75.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.35, for a total transaction of $79,945.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 22,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,314,347.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.35, for a total value of $79,945.90. Following the sale, the director now owns 22,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,314,347.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 86,356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total value of $5,648,545.96. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,777,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $901,154,354.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 102,750 shares of company stock valued at $6,604,492. Company insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

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.