Two Sigma Securities LLC Lowers Stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Two Sigma Securities LLC lowered its holdings in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 75.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,333 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 10,320 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC's holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $221,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. PFG Investments LLC grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 3,226 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 42,303 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,807,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Investment House LLC increased its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Investment House LLC now owns 61,190 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,059,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,664 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 77.3% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 12,123 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.86, for a total value of $810,543.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,432,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at $898,073,615.86. This trade represents a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $858,748.54. This trade represents a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 25.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial upgraded 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on 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 raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.50.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock traded down $0.86 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $55.29. 141,008 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 943,475. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $55.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.79. The company has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a P/E ratio of -115.59 and a beta of 1.98. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52-week low of $45.61 and a 52-week high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.95 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 0.67% and a negative return on equity of 51.48%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's quarterly revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.69 earnings per share. As a group, 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.77%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.