The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Shares Sold by TD Private Client Wealth LLC

TD Private Client Wealth LLC lowered its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,914 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 476 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $1,188,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 77.3% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the third quarter worth about $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of SMG opened at $57.90 on Friday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a twelve month low of $55.68 and a twelve month high of $93.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $65.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of -120.61 and a beta of 1.79.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) earnings per share 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 firm posted ($1.45) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -550.00%.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the business’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 transaction of $99,646.18. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $858,748.54. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.56, for a total value of $10,213,973.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 88,310 shares in the company, valued at $6,319,463.60. This trade represents a 61.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 159,937 shares of company stock valued at $11,379,275 in the last quarter. 25.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on SMG shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.