Quadrature Capital Ltd Has $1.19 Million Stock Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Quadrature Capital Ltd lowered its holdings in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 62.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,638 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 30,695 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $1,188,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 77,564 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,945,000 after buying an additional 1,807 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,183,932 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $139,226,000 after acquiring an additional 25,863 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 30,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,944,000 after acquiring an additional 2,800 shares during the last quarter. Carmignac Gestion bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth $3,411,000. Finally, Bridgecreek Investment Management LLC grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Bridgecreek Investment Management LLC now owns 45,350 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,891,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 31,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.67, for a total transaction of $2,159,770.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,746,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $957,684,656.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 26.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SMG opened at $64.40 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $67.82 and its 200-day moving average is $64.73. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1 year low of $43.67 and a 1 year high of $77.95.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 20.97% and a negative net margin of 10.14%. The firm’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is -42.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on SMG shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro 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.