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

Cresset Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 85.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,659 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 27,193 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC's holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SMG. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth about $39,986,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth about $39,434,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 157.3% during the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 469,336 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $31,136,000 after buying an additional 286,962 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 553.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 189,198 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $12,549,000 after buying an additional 160,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth about $9,684,000. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 0.0%

SMG traded up $0.02 on Tuesday, reaching $62.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 575,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 962,900. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $55.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.70. The company has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -130.91 and a beta of 1.98. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a fifty-two week low of $45.61 and a fifty-two week high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.95 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 51.48% and a negative net margin of 0.67%. The company's revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.69 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's payout ratio is currently 528.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SMG. Stifel Nicolaus raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.83.

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.