Cullen Investment Group LTD. Buys Shares of 12,911 The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Cullen Investment Group LTD. bought a new position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 12,911 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $823,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 146.1% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 406 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the first quarter worth $27,000. Resources Management Corp CT ADV raised its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2,025.0% during the second quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 425 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, First Manhattan Co. raised its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 29.9% during the fourth quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 987 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of SMG stock traded down $0.95 on Tuesday, hitting $67.78. The stock had a trading volume of 417,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 757,687. The business has a 50 day moving average of $66.30 and a 200 day moving average of $59.41. The stock has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.63 and a beta of 1.70. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12-month low of $43.67 and a 12-month high of $77.95.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The basic materials company reported ($1.45) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.62) by $0.17. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 11.52% and a negative return on equity of 44.37%. The business had revenue of $410.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $412.83 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($1.02) earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.89%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -37.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on SMG. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $75.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, March 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 86,356 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total transaction of $5,648,545.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,777,012 shares in the company, valued at $901,154,354.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 86,356 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total transaction of $5,648,545.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,777,012 shares in the company, valued at $901,154,354.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.35, for a total transaction of $79,945.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 22,918 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,314,347.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 102,750 shares of company stock worth $6,604,492. Insiders own 26.46% of the company's stock.

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.