NewEdge Wealth LLC Lowers Holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

NewEdge Wealth LLC reduced its holdings in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 19.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,647 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 7,660 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $2,166,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 115.8% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 790 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 218,541 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $14,498,000 after purchasing an additional 14,088 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 64.7% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,483 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 2,546 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 28,116 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,865,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 117,738 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $7,811,000 after purchasing an additional 1,182 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total transaction of $99,646.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at $858,748.54. This represents a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 11,359 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total value of $856,127.83. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 51,631 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,891,428.47. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 171,296 shares of company stock worth $12,235,403. 25.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 3.4 %

Shares of SMG traded up $2.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $62.04. The company had a trading volume of 1,593,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 791,906. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52-week low of $55.68 and a 52-week high of $93.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -129.26 and a beta of 1.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $66.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.71.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($1.45) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.26%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is currently -550.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on 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. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a "hold" rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price target on 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. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to 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.