The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Shares Sold by AQR Capital Management LLC

AQR Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 31.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 421,837 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 189,140 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.73% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $27,647,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5,300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 702 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 689 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter worth $44,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 13.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 58,918 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,171,000 after acquiring an additional 7,206 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 112.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,226 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 219,532 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $14,439,000 after purchasing an additional 9,684 shares during the period. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

NYSE SMG traded down $1.01 on Wednesday, hitting $53.88. The company had a trading volume of 903,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 948,422. The company's fifty day moving average price is $55.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.71. The company has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of -112.25 and a beta of 1.98. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12-month low of $45.61 and a 12-month high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.95 by $0.03. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 0.67% and a negative return on equity of 51.48%. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.69 EPS. Scotts Miracle-Gro's quarterly revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.90%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 528.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SMG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $72.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.50.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 12,123 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.86, for a total value of $810,543.78. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,432,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at $898,073,615.86. This represents a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 13,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $858,748.54. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 25.37% of the company's stock.

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.