Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Buys 5,353 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 4,149.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,482 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,353 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter worth about $44,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 77.3% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 68.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 621 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.56, for a total transaction 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 $6,319,463.60. This trade represents a 61.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Hagedorn sold 3,568 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $255,112.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,001,998. The trade was a 5.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 159,937 shares of company stock worth $11,379,275 over the last three months. 25.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on SMG shares. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.33.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of SMG stock opened at $51.35 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $62.47 and a 200-day moving average of $71.92. The stock has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -106.98 and a beta of 1.96. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52-week low of $49.00 and a 52-week high of $93.90.

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

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.14%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -550.00%.

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.