The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Position Reduced by AlphaQuest LLC

AlphaQuest LLC lessened its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 77.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,433 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,810 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $95,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter valued at about $50,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 68.3% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5,300.0% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 702 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SMG. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a "hold" rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $74.00.

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Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 13,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $858,748.54. This trade represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 88,310 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,319,463.60. The trade was a 61.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 159,937 shares of company stock valued at $11,379,275 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 25.37% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

NYSE:SMG traded down $1.42 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $57.90. 4,125,241 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 807,135. The firm has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -120.61 and a beta of 1.79. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52-week low of $55.68 and a 52-week high of $93.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.81.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) earnings per share 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 prior year, the company earned ($1.45) EPS. On average, analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro's payout ratio is currently -550.00%.

Scotts Miracle-Gro 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.