The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Shares Acquired by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 15.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 63,401 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,424 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP owned 0.11% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $4,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 427.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 332 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 77.3% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 68.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 621 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the business’s 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. The trade was a 61.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Hagedorn sold 3,568 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $255,112.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,972 shares in the company, valued at $4,001,998. The trade was a 5.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 159,937 shares of company stock worth $11,379,275 in the last 90 days. 25.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

NYSE SMG opened at $60.59 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $66.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.20. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a one year low of $55.68 and a one year high of $93.90. The firm has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a PE ratio of -126.22 and a beta of 1.79.

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, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.45) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -550.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SMG has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.00.

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.