96,461 Shares in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Purchased by Madison Investment Advisors LLC

Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 96,461 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $6,399,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC owned about 0.17% of Scotts Miracle-Gro at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $227,000. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 3rd quarter worth $220,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 3rd quarter valued at $421,000. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 3rd quarter valued at $227,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.7% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 30,264 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,624,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

NYSE SMG traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $57.11. 1,404,284 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 811,424. The business's 50-day moving average is $65.06 and its 200-day moving average is $72.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -118.97 and a beta of 1.79. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a twelve month low of $55.68 and a twelve month high of $93.90.

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Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) EPS for the quarter, beating 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.45) earnings per share. Analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.62%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is currently -550.00%.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $858,748.54. This trade represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.56, for a total transaction of $10,213,973.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 88,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,319,463.60. This represents a 61.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 159,937 shares of company stock worth $11,379,275. 25.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

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.