Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Cuts Holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lowered its position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 50.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,621 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 37,765 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 0.06% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $2,430,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 77.3% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 68.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 621 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on SMG shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price target for the company from $72.00 to $69.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. 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. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their target price for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Truist Financial raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total value of $99,646.18. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,039 shares in the company, valued at $858,748.54. This represents a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 25.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

NYSE SMG traded down $1.36 during trading on Friday, hitting $54.00. The stock had a trading volume of 777,948 shares, compared to its average volume of 948,249. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -112.50 and a beta of 1.98. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a one year low of $45.61 and a one year high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.95 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 0.67% and a negative return on equity of 51.48%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.69 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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 $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is presently 528.00%.

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.