Sei Investments Co. Sells 5,683 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Sei Investments Co. cut its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 108,085 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 5,683 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned 0.19% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $7,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SMG. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 53.6% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,880 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,117,000 after acquiring an additional 4,496 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 10,055 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $872,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 429.6% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 2,828 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 2,294 shares during the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 201.0% during the 3rd quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 14,793 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,283,000 after buying an additional 9,879 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1,033.4% during 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 buying an additional 331,925 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 5.7 %

Shares of NYSE SMG traded up $3.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $57.91. 2,133,736 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 851,514. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.19. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a twelve month low of $53.37 and a twelve month high of $93.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -120.64 and a beta of 1.79.

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) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 last year, the company earned ($1.45) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 13,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at $858,748.54. This trade represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 88,310 shares in the company, 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 have sold 159,937 shares of company stock valued at $11,379,275 in the last 90 days. 25.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on SMG shares. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.33.

Scotts Miracle-Gro 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.