Brian E. Sandoval Sells 1,513 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Stock

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total value of $99,646.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $858,748.54. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of SMG stock opened at $66.16 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.64. The stock has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -137.82 and a beta of 1.74. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12 month low of $56.01 and a 12 month high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) EPS for the quarter, topping 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 period last year, the business posted ($1.45) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.99%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is currently -549.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 427.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 332 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 83.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 369 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

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.