Brandes Investment Partners LP Sells 5,154 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Brandes Investment Partners LP cut its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 80,977 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 5,154 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP owned approximately 0.14% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $5,348,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 400.9% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 64,540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,162,000 after purchasing an additional 51,656 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 18,313 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth $1,793,000. Carmignac Gestion purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter worth about $3,411,000. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 30,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,944,000 after acquiring an additional 2,800 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 1.4 %

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $86.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a PE ratio of -13.89 and a beta of 1.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $72.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.42. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12-month low of $43.67 and a 12-month high of $87.48.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 7.38% and a negative return on equity of 41.19%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.17 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were given 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 dividend yield of 3.04%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is presently -42.31%.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 960 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director now owns 22,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,788,173. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 85,130 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 960 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.95, for a total transaction of $74,832.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,788,173. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 89,078 shares of company stock worth $6,325,042. Company insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SMG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.00.

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.