Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Sells 199 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. decreased its position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,321 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 199 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $1,083,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,432,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $124,203,000 after purchasing an additional 15,869 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 708,558 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $61,448,000 after acquiring an additional 14,730 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,986,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1,033.4% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 364,045 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,563,000 after purchasing an additional 331,925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 228.0% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 252,798 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $21,918,000 after purchasing an additional 175,719 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on SMG shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 2.4 %

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $57.90 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.83. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1-year low of $55.68 and a 1-year high of $93.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -120.61 and a beta of 1.79.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by $0.34. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 51.48% and a negative net margin of 0.67%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.45) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -550.00%.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, EVP Christopher Hagedorn sold 3,568 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $255,112.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,001,998. This trade represents a 5.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.56, for a total value of $10,213,973.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 88,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,319,463.60. This represents a 61.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 159,937 shares of company stock valued at $11,379,275 over the last three months. 25.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.