Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Trading 4.6% Higher

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)’s stock price rose 4.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $77.60 and last traded at $77.25. Approximately 631,858 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 22% from the average daily volume of 813,320 shares. The stock had previously closed at $73.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on SMG shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a PE ratio of -12.11 and a beta of 1.75. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $70.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.73.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 41.19% and a negative net margin of 7.38%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.17 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -42.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 85,130 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 $6,038,270.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,608,238 shares in the company, valued at $965,232,321.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 960 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.95, for a total transaction of $74,832.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 22,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,788,173. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 85,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total transaction of $6,038,270.90. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,608,238 shares in the company, valued at $965,232,321.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 89,078 shares of company stock worth $6,325,042 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SMG. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 18,060 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 18.4% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 230,616 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,218,000 after buying an additional 35,825 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 22,599 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake 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 valued at $14,035,000 after acquiring an additional 163,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carmignac Gestion purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth about $3,411,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

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.