Brian E. Sandoval Sells 1,513 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Stock

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 13,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $858,748.54. This represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $66.16 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $69.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.64. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a one year low of $56.01 and a one year high of $93.90. The stock has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -137.82 and a beta of 1.74.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted 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 net margin of 0.67% and a negative return on equity of 51.48%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($1.45) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is currently -549.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Six investment 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, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.83.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SMG. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,172,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $275,082,000 after acquiring an additional 151,354 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,432,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $124,203,000 after purchasing an additional 15,869 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 708,558 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $61,448,000 after purchasing an additional 14,730 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter worth about $39,986,000. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 157.3% in the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 469,336 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,136,000 after purchasing an additional 286,962 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.