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

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total transaction of $99,646.18. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

NYSE:SMG opened at $66.65 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.67. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a twelve month low of $56.01 and a twelve month high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) EPS for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.45) EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current 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 given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -549.99%.

Institutional Trading of Scotts Miracle-Gro

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SMG. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 427.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 332 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 83.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 369 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SMG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.83.

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.