Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Buys Shares of 3,848 The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,848 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $245,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the third quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 23.7% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,376 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 826.3% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,482 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 1,322 shares during the period. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of SMG stock opened at $68.26 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $69.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.94 and a beta of 1.70. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12 month low of $43.67 and a 12 month high of $77.95.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.36. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 20.97% and a negative net margin of 10.14%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.65 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -42.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SMG has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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, May 2nd. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 15,000 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.40, for a total value of $876,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,881,368 shares in the company, valued at $810,671,891.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of the company’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 transaction of $79,945.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,314,347.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.40, for a total value of $876,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,881,368 shares in the company, valued at approximately $810,671,891.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 133,750 shares of company stock worth $8,764,262 in the last ninety days. 26.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company 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.