Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $35.99 Million Holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 542,527 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 8,723 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.94% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $35,991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SMG. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% during the third quarter. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,845 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 42,303 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,807,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 30,264 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,624,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted 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 valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, 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 sale, the director now directly owns 13,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $858,748.54. This trade represents a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the business'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 directly owns 88,310 shares of the company's stock, 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 have sold 159,937 shares of company stock worth $11,379,275 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 25.37% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SMG traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $59.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 391,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 853,647. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a one year low of $55.68 and a one year high of $93.90. The stock has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -124.77 and a beta of 1.79. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $65.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.09.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 period last year, the company posted ($1.45) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 presently -550.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.