The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Shares Sold by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,365 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,240 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $2,366,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 72.6% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 42,928 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,202,000 after buying an additional 18,060 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 18.4% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 230,616 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,218,000 after acquiring an additional 35,825 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter worth about $12,482,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 155.1% in the 1st quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 37,172 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,773,000 after purchasing an additional 22,599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 309.5% during the 2nd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 215,717 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,035,000 after purchasing an additional 163,037 shares during the period. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE SMG opened at $66.46 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.32. The stock has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.65 and a beta of 1.75. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52 week low of $43.67 and a 52 week high of $82.11.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.42. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 7.38% and a negative return on equity of 41.19%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is presently -42.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 2,988 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total transaction of $211,938.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,689,665.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 960 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.95, for a total transaction of $74,832.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 22,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,788,173. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 2,988 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total transaction of $211,938.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,689,665.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 89,078 shares of company stock valued at $6,325,042 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SMG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.00.

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.