Guggenheim Capital LLC reduced its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 44.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,432 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 5,082 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SMG. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 3,134 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,684,000. Caprock Group LLC raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,046 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 112.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,226 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.
Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance
Shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock traded down $2.95 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $50.59. The company had a trading volume of 5,707,854 shares, compared to its average volume of 935,823. The firm has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a PE ratio of -105.39 and a beta of 1.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $56.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.94. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a fifty-two week low of $45.64 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, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.69 earnings per share. Scotts Miracle-Gro's revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.
Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's payout ratio is -550.00%.
Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro
In related news, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.56, for a total value of $10,213,973.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 88,310 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,319,463.60. This trade represents a 61.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total transaction of $99,646.18. Following the transaction, the director now 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 sold a total of 159,937 shares of company stock valued at $11,379,275 in the last quarter. 25.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research analysts have commented on SMG shares. Truist Financial upgraded 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 research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $72.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.17.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on SMG
About Scotts Miracle-Gro
(
Free Report)
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.
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