Rhumbline Advisers Sells 7,775 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Rhumbline Advisers lowered its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 116,777 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 7,775 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $7,597,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SMG. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,082 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $643,000 after buying an additional 1,723 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter worth about $205,000. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 7,822 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 545,258 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,760,000 after purchasing an additional 18,975 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter worth about $76,000. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

SMG stock opened at $69.74 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $69.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.39. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a fifty-two week low of $43.67 and a fifty-two week high of $82.11. The firm has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a PE ratio of -11.18 and a beta of 1.75.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.42. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 7.38% and a negative return on equity of 41.19%. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.62 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is currently -42.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SMG shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.00.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 85,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total value of $6,038,270.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,608,238 shares in the company, valued at $965,232,321.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 960 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.95, for a total value of $74,832.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 22,940 shares in the company, valued at $1,788,173. 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 85,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total value of $6,038,270.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,608,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $965,232,321.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 89,078 shares of company stock worth $6,325,042 over the last three months. 26.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.