Fox Run Management L.L.C. Acquires New Stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,385 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $490,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,432,565 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $124,203,000 after buying an additional 15,869 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 708,558 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $61,448,000 after acquiring an additional 14,730 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth about $39,986,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1,033.4% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 364,045 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $31,563,000 after purchasing an additional 331,925 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 228.0% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 252,798 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $21,918,000 after purchasing an additional 175,719 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

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Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 4.5 %

Shares of SMG stock traded down $2.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $54.66. 1,109,072 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 843,801. The company's 50-day moving average price is $64.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.43. The company has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -113.88 and a beta of 1.79. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12 month low of $54.44 and a 12 month 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. Equities analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

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 transaction of $255,112.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,972 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,001,998. This represents a 5.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $858,748.54. This trade represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 159,937 shares of company stock valued at $11,379,275 in the last quarter. 25.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SMG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group cut 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 research note on Thursday, January 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $74.00.

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.