The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Shares Purchased by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 63,592 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 5,275 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $4,219,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,432,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $124,203,000 after acquiring an additional 15,869 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 708,558 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $61,448,000 after purchasing an additional 14,730 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,986,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 219,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,439,000 after purchasing an additional 9,684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 218,541 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,498,000 after purchasing an additional 14,088 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

NYSE:SMG opened at $52.78 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $60.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.11. The firm has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -109.95 and a beta of 1.96. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a one year low of $46.45 and a one year high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its 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 in the prior year, the business earned ($1.45) EPS. As a group, 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.00%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is -550.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total transaction of $99,646.18. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $858,748.54. This represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.56, for a total value of $10,213,973.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 88,310 shares of the company’s stock, 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 sold a total of 159,937 shares of company stock valued at $11,379,275 in the last three months. 25.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SMG has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Monday. UBS Group lowered their price target on 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.83.

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.