Insider Selling: The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Director Sells 70,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Insider Activity: Hagedorn Partnership, L.P., a director at Scotts Miracle-Gro, sold 70,000 shares at an average price of $62.28, totaling approximately $4.36 million, leading to a 0.52% decrease in their ownership.
• Quarterly Earnings: Scotts Miracle-Gro reported earnings per share of $2.59 for the last quarter, surpassing analyst estimates, although year-over-year revenue fell by 1.2% to $1.19 billion.
• Dividend Announcement: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, equating to an annualized yield of 4.4%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 22nd.

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.28, for a total transaction of $4,359,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,274,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $826,721,784.72. The trade was a 0.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 2.5%

NYSE:SMG traded down $1.48 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $58.49. The company had a trading volume of 541,738 shares, compared to its average volume of 906,362. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52 week low of $45.61 and a 52 week high of $93.90. The firm has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.96 and a beta of 1.97. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $64.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.38.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.40. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 60.46% and a net margin of 1.54%. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.31 earnings per share. Scotts Miracle-Gro's revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's payout ratio is currently 347.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.17.

Institutional Trading of Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 288.8% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,421,220 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $78,011,000 after acquiring an additional 1,055,672 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter valued at about $53,453,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,986,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,434,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 770.3% during the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 334,934 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $18,385,000 after purchasing an additional 296,448 shares during the period. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.