Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. Buys 6,000 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 46.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,825 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares during the period. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $1,249,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth about $6,399,000. Impact Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth about $347,000. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 83,900 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,566,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth about $2,124,000. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total transaction of $99,646.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,039 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available through this link. Also, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.56, for a total transaction of $10,213,973.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 88,310 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,319,463.60. This 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 quarter. 25.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on SMG shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a "hold" rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price target for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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 price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $74.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

SMG traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $59.91. The company had a trading volume of 755,376 shares, compared to its average volume of 793,508. The company has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a PE ratio of -124.81 and a beta of 1.79. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a twelve month low of $55.68 and a twelve month high of $93.90. The firm's 50-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 data 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 net margin of 0.67% and a negative return on equity of 51.48%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.45) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is -550.00%.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company 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.