Insider Selling: The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Director Sells 12,123 Shares of Stock

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 12,123 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.86, for a total transaction of $810,543.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,432,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $898,073,615.86. The trade was a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, December 2nd, Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 500 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.14, for a total transaction of $38,570.00.
• On Wednesday, November 27th, Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 28,000 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.91, for a total transaction of $2,125,480.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 0.8 %

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $66.16. 633,662 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 703,980. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $69.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.67. The firm has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -137.82 and a beta of 1.74. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a fifty-two week low of $56.01 and a fifty-two week high of $93.90.

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) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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) earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.99%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is presently -549.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SMG. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. 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 Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $75.83.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 427.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 332 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 83.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 369 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company's stock.

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.