HUB Investment Partners LLC Sells 204 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

HUB Investment Partners LLC lessened its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,249 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 204 shares during the quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $2,736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SMG. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,986,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1,033.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 364,045 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,563,000 after purchasing an additional 331,925 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 228.0% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 252,798 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $21,918,000 after purchasing an additional 175,719 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,172,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $275,082,000 after purchasing an additional 151,354 shares in the last quarter. Finally, De Lisle Partners LLP bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $10,162,000. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, EVP Christopher Hagedorn sold 3,568 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,001,998. This trade represents a 5.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total transaction of $99,646.18. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $858,748.54. This trade represents a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 159,937 shares of company stock worth $11,379,275. Insiders own 25.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on SMG shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:SMG opened at $59.91 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -124.81 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $65.82 and a 200-day moving average of $73.00. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a twelve month low of $55.68 and a twelve month high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm earned ($1.45) EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.41%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is -550.00%.

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.