142,803 Shares in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Purchased by Granite Investment Partners LLC

Granite Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 142,803 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,474,000. Granite Investment Partners LLC owned 0.25% of Scotts Miracle-Gro at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 77.3% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 68.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 621 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.56, for a total value of $10,213,973.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 88,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,319,463.60. This trade represents a 61.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Hagedorn sold 3,568 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 55,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,001,998. This trade represents a 5.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 159,937 shares of company stock valued at $11,379,275. 25.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on SMG shares. Truist Financial upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.83.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 1.4 %

SMG opened at $51.11 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.69. The company has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -106.48 and a beta of 1.96. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12-month low of $46.45 and a 12-month high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business posted ($1.45) EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.17%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is currently -550.00%.

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.