Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 5,051 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Natixis Advisors LLC lessened its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 207,230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 5,051 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.36% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $13,748,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PFG Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 3,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $214,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 42,303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,807,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 30,264 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,624,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 77.3% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 68.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 621 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:SMG opened at $59.91 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -124.81 and a beta of 1.79. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12 month low of $55.68 and a 12 month high of $93.90. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business earned ($1.45) EPS. Research analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -550.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, EVP Christopher Hagedorn sold 3,568 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $255,112.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,972 shares in the company, valued at $4,001,998. This trade represents a 5.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total value of $99,646.18. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $858,748.54. This represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 159,937 shares of company stock worth $11,379,275. Insiders own 25.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.00.

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.