Blair William & Co. IL Cuts Stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Blair William & Co. IL trimmed its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 14.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 237,264 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 41,651 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL owned 0.41% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $15,740,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of SMG. PFG Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 3,226 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 42,303 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,807,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Investment House LLC increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Investment House LLC now owns 61,190 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,059,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 77.3% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position 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 worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 5.0 %

SMG traded up $2.73 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $57.50. The stock had a trading volume of 713,104 shares, compared to its average volume of 845,498. The stock's 50 day moving average is $63.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.29. The company has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -119.78 and a beta of 1.79. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a one year low of $53.37 and a one year high of $93.90.

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

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.59%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is currently -550.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SMG. Stifel Nicolaus raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Christopher Hagedorn sold 3,568 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $255,112.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,972 shares in the company, valued at $4,001,998. This represents a 5.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 88,310 shares in the company, valued at $6,319,463.60. This trade represents a 61.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 159,937 shares of company stock worth $11,379,275 in the last three months. Insiders own 25.37% of the company's stock.

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.