Paragon Capital Management Inc. Sells 4,906 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Paragon Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 17.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,013 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,906 shares during the period. Scotts Miracle-Gro comprises approximately 1.2% of Paragon Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Paragon Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $1,593,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. De Lisle Partners LLP bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the third quarter valued at approximately $10,162,000. Algert Global LLC grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 202.2% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 25,140 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,180,000 after acquiring an additional 16,821 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5.0% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,172,800 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $275,082,000 after acquiring an additional 151,354 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,110,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 63.5% during the third quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 56,337 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,884,000 after acquiring an additional 21,872 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

SMG stock traded down $0.88 on Friday, reaching $67.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 760,667 shares, compared to its average volume of 703,980. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.72. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12-month low of $54.74 and a 12-month high of $93.90. The firm has a market cap of $3.87 billion, a PE ratio of -140.18 and a beta of 1.74.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) 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 earned ($1.45) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro's payout ratio is -550.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on SMG. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a "hold" rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $75.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, EVP Christopher Hagedorn sold 3,568 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,972 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,001,998. This trade represents a 5.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.14, for a total value of $38,570.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,553,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,045,499,556.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 204,528 shares of company stock valued at $14,879,354 over the last quarter. 25.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.