The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) EVP Christopher Hagedorn Sells 3,568 Shares

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) EVP Christopher Hagedorn sold 3,568 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $255,112.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,972 shares in the company, valued at $4,001,998. This represents a 5.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of SMG opened at $69.31 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -144.39 and a beta of 1.74. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.80. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12 month low of $53.43 and a 12 month high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by $0.34. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 51.48% and a negative net margin of 0.67%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.45) EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is -549.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SMG. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 427.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 332 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 83.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 369 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.83.

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.