32,024 Shares in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Purchased by AGF Management Ltd.

AGF Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 32,024 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $2,124,000. AGF Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.06% of Scotts Miracle-Gro at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 427.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 332 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 77.3% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 68.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 621 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter worth $44,000. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 0.3 %

SMG stock traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $59.91. 755,268 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 793,508. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.09. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a one year low of $55.68 and a one year high of $93.90. The company has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -124.81 and a beta of 1.79.

Remove Ads

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($1.45) earnings per share. Analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.41%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -550.00%.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 88,310 shares in the company, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total value of $99,646.18. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 159,937 shares of company stock worth $11,379,275 in the last quarter. 25.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.