Edgestream Partners L.P. Sells 35,636 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Edgestream Partners L.P. reduced its stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 63.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,701 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 35,636 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P.'s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $1,373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter worth about $39,986,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,139,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 125.2% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,975 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 3,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $62.24. The company had a trading volume of 465,007 shares, compared to its average volume of 793,347. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a one year low of $55.68 and a one year high of $93.90. The firm has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a PE ratio of -129.74 and a beta of 1.79. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.46.

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Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 firm earned ($1.45) EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.24%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's payout ratio is currently -550.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SMG has been the topic of several analyst reports. 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 on the stock. 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 report on Tuesday, January 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $74.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.56, for a total value of $10,213,973.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 88,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,319,463.60. The trade was a 61.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total transaction of $99,646.18. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $858,748.54. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 159,937 shares of company stock worth $11,379,275. 25.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.