Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Sells 134,793 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC decreased its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 71.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 54,884 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 134,793 shares during the quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $3,337,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 12,034.5% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,008,623 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $66,529,000 after buying an additional 1,000,311 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 1st quarter worth $50,058,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 161.1% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,289,974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $78,443,000 after acquiring an additional 795,970 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 458.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 822,743 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $54,268,000 after acquiring an additional 675,493 shares during the period. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 362.8% during the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 737,546 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $43,036,000 after acquiring an additional 578,174 shares during the period. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,171 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total value of $80,002.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 30,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,061,829.28. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 24.40% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 4.2%

NYSE:SMG opened at $68.46 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.33. The stock has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a PE ratio of 59.53 and a beta of 1.82. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52 week low of $52.00 and a 52 week high of $75.34.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.34. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 81.90% and a net margin of 2.19%.The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is currently 229.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SMG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group lifted their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.40.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Profile

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is a leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of consumer lawn and garden products. The firm serves both retail and professional customers through an array of branded offerings that include lawn fertilizers, grass seed, pest and disease control solutions, plant foods and specialty products for indoor and outdoor gardening. Its portfolio spans well-known names such as Scotts®, Miracle-Gro®, Ortho® and various hydroponic and specialty garden brands.

Headquartered in Marysville, Ohio, the company traces its roots to O.M.