Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 75,192 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company $SMG

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors cut its Scotts Miracle-Gro position by 93.6%, selling 75,192 shares and retaining 5,134 shares worth approximately $312,000. Other institutional investors, including Bank of America and Royal Bank of Canada, increased their holdings.
• Scotts Miracle-Gro reported quarterly EPS of $2.82, beating estimates of $2.48, while revenue reached $1.17 billion, up 1.1% year over year. Analysts’ average rating remains “Hold,” with an average price target of $75.40.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, equivalent to a 4.3% annualized yield, though its payout ratio remains elevated at 229.57%.

Pacer Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 93.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,134 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 75,192 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 60.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,555 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $520,000 after buying an additional 3,232 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 658,602 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $40,050,000 after buying an additional 92,614 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 661.9% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,219 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 23.8% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 54,043 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,286,000 after acquiring an additional 10,372 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 182.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 66,698 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,057,000 after acquiring an additional 43,066 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE SMG opened at $62.08 on Wednesday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52 week low of $52.00 and a 52 week high of $75.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.98 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $65.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.33.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.17 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 2.19% and a negative return on equity of 81.90%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.59 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.39 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 229.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SMG. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $75.40.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.45, for a total value of $2,023,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,137,641 shares in the company, valued at $886,133,885.45. This represents a 0.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mark D. Kingdon sold 831 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total value of $51,231.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $667,484.55. This represents a 7.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 32,002 shares of company stock worth $2,154,734 in the last 90 days. 24.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is a leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of consumer lawn and garden products. The firm serves both retail and professional customers through an array of branded offerings that include lawn fertilizers, grass seed, pest and disease control solutions, plant foods and specialty products for indoor and outdoor gardening. Its portfolio spans well-known names such as Scotts®, Miracle-Gro®, Ortho® and various hydroponic and specialty garden brands.

Headquartered in Marysville, Ohio, the company traces its roots to O.M.

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