HUB Investment Partners LLC Cuts Stock Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

HUB Investment Partners LLC cut its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,249 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 204 shares during the quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $2,736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5.0% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,172,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $275,082,000 after acquiring an additional 151,354 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,432,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $124,203,000 after purchasing an additional 15,869 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.1% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter worth $39,986,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1,033.4% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 364,045 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,563,000 after buying an additional 331,925 shares during the period. 74.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 0.3 %

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

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its earnings results 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 last year, the business posted ($1.45) EPS. On average, analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

SMG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lowered their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of 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, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.00.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.56, for a total transaction of $10,213,973.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 88,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,319,463.60. The trade was a 61.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total transaction of $99,646.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $858,748.54. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 159,937 shares of company stock worth $11,379,275 over the last ninety days. 25.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.