Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Trims Stock Holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lessened its stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 16.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,136 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 5,284 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $1,734,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 77.3% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 68.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 621 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter valued at $44,000. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 0.2 %

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $54.78 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $63.57 and a 200-day moving average of $72.29. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52-week low of $53.37 and a 52-week high of $93.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -114.13 and a beta of 1.79.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) earnings per share (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 period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.45) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is presently -550.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total value of $99,646.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $858,748.54. This represents a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Hagedorn sold 3,568 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $255,112.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,972 shares in the company, valued at $4,001,998. This trade represents a 5.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 159,937 shares of company stock valued at $11,379,275 over the last 90 days. 25.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SMG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on 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 began coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro 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.