The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Stake Trimmed by Advisor OS LLC

Advisor OS LLC lowered its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 45.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,563 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,935 shares during the quarter. Advisor OS LLC’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SMG. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1,033.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 364,045 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,563,000 after purchasing an additional 331,925 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 228.0% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 252,798 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $21,918,000 after purchasing an additional 175,719 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5.0% in 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 in the last quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 3rd quarter worth about $10,162,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 344.2% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 80,434 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,974,000 after purchasing an additional 62,327 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of SMG opened at $58.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -122.09 and a beta of 1.74. The company’s fifty day moving average is $67.56 and its 200-day moving average is $74.02. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12 month low of $58.50 and a 12 month high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 0.67% and a negative return on equity of 51.48%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.45) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is -550.00%.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 12,123 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.86, for a total value of $810,543.78. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,432,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $898,073,615.86. This trade represents a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Hagedorn sold 18,368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $1,390,090.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,426 shares in the company, valued at $6,616,399.68. The trade was a 17.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 190,164 shares of company stock valued at $13,664,064. Corporate insiders own 25.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SMG has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.83.

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.