Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Director Sells 30,000 Shares of Stock

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.45, for a total value of $2,023,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,137,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $886,133,885.45. This trade represents a 0.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:SMG traded down $0.71 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $65.67. 812,285 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 952,168. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $65.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.35. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52 week low of $52.00 and a 52 week high of $75.34. The company has a market cap of $3.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.10 and a beta of 1.82.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.34. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 2.19% and a negative return on equity of 81.90%. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.59 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is currently 229.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $79.00 price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Friday. Finally, 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, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $75.40.

Institutional Trading of Scotts Miracle-Gro

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

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company 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.