SRS Capital Advisors Inc. Sells 410 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

SRS Capital Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 31.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 891 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 410 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $59,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 427.0% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 332 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 68.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 621 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the third quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 11,359 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total value of $856,127.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 51,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,891,428.47. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 value of $99,646.18. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,039 shares in the company, valued at $858,748.54. This trade represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 171,296 shares of company stock worth $12,235,403 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 25.37% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of SMG stock opened at $62.15 on Friday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12-month low of $55.68 and a 12-month high of $93.90. The company has a 50 day moving average of $66.89 and a 200-day moving average of $73.71. The firm has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -129.47 and a beta of 1.79.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the firm earned ($1.45) EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.25%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is -550.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on SMG. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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 Thursday, November 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.00.

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.