Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Trading Down 3.1% – Time to Sell?

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)’s share price traded down 3.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $83.79 and last traded at $83.87. 215,524 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 815,862 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.55.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SMG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 3.7 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $73.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.89. The firm has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a PE ratio of -13.36 and a beta of 1.76.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 41.19% and a negative net margin of 7.38%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is presently -42.31%.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 960 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.95, for a total value of $74,832.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,788,173. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 85,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total transaction of $6,038,270.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,608,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $965,232,321.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 960 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.95, for a total transaction of $74,832.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,940 shares in the company, valued at $1,788,173. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 89,078 shares of company stock valued at $6,325,042. Corporate insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Scotts Miracle-Gro

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 135.2% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 80.1% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 389 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 41.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

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.