The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Shares Acquired by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. increased its position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,849 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 252 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 77.3% during the fourth 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 period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 68.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 621 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE SMG opened at $57.25 on Friday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a fifty-two week low of $55.68 and a fifty-two week high of $93.90. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $64.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.48. The firm has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of -119.27 and a beta of 1.79.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 0.67% and a negative return on equity of 51.48%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($1.45) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.61%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -550.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a 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 for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.00.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, EVP Christopher Hagedorn sold 3,568 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,972 shares in the company, valued at $4,001,998. This trade represents a 5.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 88,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,319,463.60. The trade was a 61.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 159,937 shares of company stock valued at $11,379,275. Insiders own 25.37% 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.