Advisor OS LLC Sells 2,935 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Advisor OS LLC cut its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 45.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,563 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,935 shares during the period. Advisor OS LLC’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $236,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SMG. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $31,563,000 after purchasing an additional 331,925 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 228.0% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 252,798 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $21,918,000 after buying an additional 175,719 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,172,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $275,082,000 after buying an additional 151,354 shares in the last quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 3rd quarter valued at $10,162,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 344.2% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 80,434 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,974,000 after buying an additional 62,327 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on SMG. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.83.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $58.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -122.09 and a beta of 1.74. The business’s fifty day moving average is $67.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.02. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52 week low of $58.50 and a 52 week high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 last year, the company earned ($1.45) EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -550.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total transaction of $99,646.18. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $858,748.54. This represents a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.14, for a total value of $38,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,553,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,045,499,556.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 190,164 shares of company stock valued at $13,664,064 over the last 90 days. 25.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.