Hsbc Holdings PLC Has $291,000 Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Hsbc Holdings PLC lessened its stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 93.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,466 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 63,876 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $291,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,986,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 553.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 189,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,549,000 after buying an additional 160,225 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth $9,684,000. Granite Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth $9,474,000. Finally, Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,399,000. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.50.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of SMG opened at $54.00 on Friday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52-week low of $45.61 and a 52-week high of $93.90. The firm has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -112.50 and a beta of 1.98. The business’s fifty day moving average is $55.28 and its 200-day moving average is $66.16.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.95 by $0.03. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 51.48% and a negative net margin of 0.67%. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.69 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.89%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is presently 528.00%.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related 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 value of $99,646.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,039 shares in the company, valued at $858,748.54. This trade represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 25.37% of the company’s stock.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

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.