Proficio Capital Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 32,240 The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 32,240 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $2,139,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Scotts Miracle-Gro as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5.0% in 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 buying an additional 151,354 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 15,869 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 708,558 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $61,448,000 after acquiring an additional 14,730 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1,033.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 331,925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 175,719 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company's stock.

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Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.56, for a total value of $10,213,973.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 88,310 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,319,463.60. The trade was a 61.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Christopher Hagedorn sold 3,568 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $255,112.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,972 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,001,998. This trade represents a 5.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 159,937 shares of company stock worth $11,379,275. 25.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:SMG traded down $1.42 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $57.90. 4,125,241 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 807,710. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12 month low of $55.68 and a 12 month high of $93.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -120.61 and a beta of 1.79. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $65.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.83.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the business posted ($1.45) EPS. Analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro's payout ratio is currently -550.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SMG. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a "hold" rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.00.

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.