Natixis Purchases New Stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Natixis acquired a new stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 44,145 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,929,000. Natixis owned about 0.08% of Scotts Miracle-Gro at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SMG. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 68.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 621 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the third quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SMG opened at $51.31 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -106.89 and a beta of 1.96. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1-year low of $46.45 and a 1-year high of $93.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $57.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.15.

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, 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 company posted ($1.45) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.15%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is -550.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SMG. Truist Financial raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $72.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total transaction of $99,646.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,039 shares in the company, valued at $858,748.54. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,001,998. The trade was a 5.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 159,937 shares of company stock valued at $11,379,275. 25.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.