The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) EVP Christopher Hagedorn Sells 3,568 Shares

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) EVP Christopher Hagedorn sold 3,568 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $69.46 on Thursday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a fifty-two week low of $53.43 and a fifty-two week high of $93.90. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.78. The stock has a market cap of $3.99 billion, a PE ratio of -144.70 and a beta of 1.74.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) earnings per share 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 in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.45) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -549.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1,033.4% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 364,045 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,563,000 after buying an additional 331,925 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 8,330.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 281,485 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,405,000 after acquiring an additional 278,146 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 228.0% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 252,798 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $21,918,000 after acquiring an additional 175,719 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,172,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $275,082,000 after purchasing an additional 151,354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, De Lisle Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $10,162,000. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on SMG shares. 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 research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.83.

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.