Natixis Advisors L.P. Purchases 12,126 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 217,671 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,126 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. owned 0.38% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $13,876,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Heritage Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter valued at $252,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,082 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $643,000 after buying an additional 1,723 shares during the last quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 85.2% during the 4th quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 12,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $797,000 after buying an additional 5,750 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 45.7% during the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 59,760 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,810,000 after acquiring an additional 18,756 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.35, for a total value of $79,945.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 22,918 shares in the company, valued at $1,314,347.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.40, for a total transaction of $876,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,881,368 shares in the company, valued at $810,671,891.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.35, for a total value of $79,945.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,918 shares in the company, valued at $1,314,347.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 102,750 shares of company stock worth $6,604,492. 26.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SMG. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Truist Financial cut shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

SMG stock opened at $69.18 on Wednesday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12 month low of $43.67 and a 12 month high of $77.95. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $69.48 and its 200 day moving average is $61.59. The company has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a PE ratio of -11.09 and a beta of 1.70.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.36. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 10.14% and a negative return on equity of 20.97%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.78 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is -42.31%.

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.