Cetera Investment Advisers Trims Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Cetera Investment Advisers decreased its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 17.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,836 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 7,578 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers owned about 0.06% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $2,311,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,986,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in 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 4th 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 during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 553.0% during the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,684,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

NYSE:SMG traded down $1.43 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $59.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 657,913 shares, compared to its average volume of 964,757. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $55.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.14. The company has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -123.75 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.95 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 0.67% and a negative return on equity of 51.48%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.69 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.44%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's payout ratio is currently 528.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on SMG. Truist Financial raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group dropped their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $72.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.83.

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.