Marshall Wace LLP Has $8.66 Million Stock Holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 202.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 130,540 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 87,340 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned 0.23% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $8,660,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of SMG. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5,300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 702 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 689 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 58,918 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,171,000 after purchasing an additional 7,206 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in 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 valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 219,532 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $14,439,000 after purchasing an additional 9,684 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total value of $99,646.18. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at $858,748.54. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.56, for a total value of $10,213,973.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 88,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,319,463.60. This represents a 61.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 159,937 shares of company stock valued at $11,379,275 in the last three months. 25.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

NYSE SMG traded up $0.65 during trading on Monday, reaching $53.73. 1,921,655 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 912,048. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $56.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.04. The company has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -111.94 and a beta of 1.96. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1-year low of $46.45 and a 1-year high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.23) by $0.34. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 51.48% and a negative net margin of 0.67%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.45) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's payout ratio is currently -550.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on SMG. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of 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. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $72.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Truist Financial raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $68.17.

Scotts Miracle-Gro 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.