Brian E. Sandoval Sells 1,513 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Stock

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total transaction of $99,646.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $858,748.54. This trade represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 1.0 %

SMG stock opened at $66.65 on Friday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1 year low of $56.01 and a 1 year high of $93.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $69.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.67.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 0.67% and a negative return on equity of 51.48%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.45) EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is presently -549.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group cut their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.83.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 202.2% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 130,540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,660,000 after acquiring an additional 87,340 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 25,231 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,674,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 258,825 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,170,000 after purchasing an additional 2,850 shares in the last quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter worth about $9,474,000. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at about $286,000. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.