Invesco Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 36.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 123,434 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 70,516 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned about 0.21% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $8,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SMG. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in 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 last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 13.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 58,918 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,171,000 after buying an additional 7,206 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 112.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,226 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 219,532 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $14,439,000 after purchasing an additional 9,684 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.56, for a total value of $10,213,973.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 88,310 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,319,463.60. This represents a 61.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Christopher Hagedorn sold 3,568 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $255,112.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,972 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,001,998. The trade was a 5.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 159,937 shares of company stock worth $11,379,275. Insiders own 25.37% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of analysts recently issued reports on SMG shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $72.00 to $69.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. One investment 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 company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.17.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on SMG
Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE:SMG traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $53.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 106,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 908,980. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $56.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.04. The company has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -110.92 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.
Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company earned ($1.45) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's payout ratio is currently -550.00%.
About Scotts Miracle-Gro
(
Free Report)
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.
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