Capital Fund Management S.A. Increases Stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Capital Fund Management S.A. lifted its position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 233.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 90,958 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 63,641 shares during the quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. owned approximately 0.16% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $6,034,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SMG. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,986,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth $9,684,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter worth $6,399,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at $5,855,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 313.9% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 81,812 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,427,000 after purchasing an additional 62,044 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 4.8 %

SMG traded up $2.40 during trading on Friday, reaching $52.21. 1,344,940 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 891,310. The company has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -108.77 and a beta of 1.96. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12-month low of $46.45 and a 12-month high of $93.90. The company's 50-day moving average is $58.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.85.

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

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.06%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro's payout ratio is -550.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.56, for a total transaction of $10,213,973.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 88,310 shares in the company, valued at $6,319,463.60. The trade was a 61.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $99,646.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $858,748.54. This represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 159,937 shares of company stock valued at $11,379,275 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 25.37% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company 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.