The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Shares Sold by Earnest Partners LLC

Earnest Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,105,279 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 48,831 shares during the period. Scotts Miracle-Gro comprises approximately 0.9% of Earnest Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Earnest Partners LLC owned approximately 5.40% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $206,004,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,986,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 258,825 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $17,170,000 after purchasing an additional 2,850 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 219,532 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $14,439,000 after buying an additional 9,684 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 218,541 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $14,498,000 after acquiring an additional 14,088 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 62.4% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 190,961 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $12,668,000 after buying an additional 73,339 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on SMG. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $72.00 to $69.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $68.17.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the company'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 $6,319,463.60. This represents a 61.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total value of $99,646.18. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $858,748.54. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 159,937 shares of company stock valued at $11,379,275 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 25.37% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

NYSE:SMG opened at $53.03 on Friday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1-year low of $46.45 and a 1-year high of $93.90. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.38. The firm has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of -110.48 and a beta of 1.96.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) 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 period in the prior year, the company earned ($1.45) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.98%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is currently -550.00%.

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.

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