Two Sigma Advisers LP Sells 15,900 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Two Sigma Advisers LP trimmed its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 13.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 106,100 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 15,900 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned approximately 0.18% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $7,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SMG. Compass Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 70,123 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,652,000 after purchasing an additional 2,497 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 3,226 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position 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 buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 35.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,809 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $120,000 after buying an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 5,447 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on SMG. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.83.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:SMG traded down $0.11 during trading on Thursday, reaching $59.72. The stock had a trading volume of 161,673 shares, compared to its average volume of 960,418. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -124.41 and a beta of 1.98. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52 week low of $45.61 and a 52 week high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.95 by $0.03. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 51.48% and a negative net margin of 0.67%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.69 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

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 $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.42%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is currently 528.00%.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company 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.