EFG Asset Management North America Corp. Acquires 14,862 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

EFG Asset Management North America Corp. raised its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 59.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 40,028 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 14,862 shares during the quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. owned 0.07% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $2,658,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 77.3% during the 4th 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. grew its holdings 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 period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a "hold" rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on 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. 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $74.00.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 13,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $858,748.54. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 12,123 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.86, for a total transaction of $810,543.78. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,432,151 shares in the company, valued at $898,073,615.86. This represents a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 159,937 shares of company stock valued at $11,379,275 over the last 90 days. 25.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

NYSE SMG traded down $2.59 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $54.66. 1,109,072 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 843,801. The company has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -113.88 and a beta of 1.79. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a one year low of $54.44 and a one year high of $93.90. The company's 50-day moving average is $64.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.43.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business posted ($1.45) EPS. Research analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -550.00%.

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.