Doliver Advisors LP Sells 678 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Doliver Advisors LP lessened its holdings in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 8.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,066 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 678 shares during the period. Doliver Advisors LP’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $613,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rise Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 135.2% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 80.1% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 389 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 41.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 2,988 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total transaction of $211,938.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,689,665.60. 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 the business’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 22,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,788,173. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 2,988 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total transaction of $211,938.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now 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 sold 89,078 shares of company stock worth $6,325,042 over the last ninety days. 26.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $87.11 on Thursday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a fifty-two week low of $43.67 and a fifty-two week high of $88.35. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $72.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.96 and a beta of 1.75.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.42. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 41.19% and a negative net margin of 7.38%. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is currently -42.31%.

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.