Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 820 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC cut its position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,605 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 820 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $2,880,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.4% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 161,053 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,013,000 after buying an additional 6,829 shares during the period. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,208 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $687,000 after acquiring an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. Keene & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. Keene & Associates Inc. now owns 13,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $973,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the first quarter worth about $4,756,000. Finally, Avitas Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% in the first quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,337 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,592,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:SMG traded down $1.28 on Friday, reaching $62.23. 199,959 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 811,306. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.06 and a beta of 1.76. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.08. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52 week low of $43.67 and a 52 week high of $77.95.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.36. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 20.97% and a negative net margin of 10.14%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -42.31%.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 31,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.67, for a total transaction of $2,159,770.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,746,012 shares in the company, valued at approximately $957,684,656.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 26.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on SMG. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Truist Financial downgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $65.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company 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.