Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. Sells 30,000 Shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Stock

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.45, for a total transaction of $2,023,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 13,137,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $886,133,885.45. The trade was a 0.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 6.1%

NYSE:SMG opened at $62.09 on Friday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12-month low of $52.00 and a 12-month high of $75.34. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.99 and a beta of 1.82.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.34. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 81.90% and a net margin of 2.19%.The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.59 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is 229.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SMG shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.40.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,522,093 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $100,397,000 after purchasing an additional 16,298 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 161.1% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,289,974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $78,443,000 after buying an additional 795,970 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 29.5% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,165,367 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $66,368,000 after buying an additional 265,677 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,157,714 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $67,553,000 after buying an additional 2,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.9% in the first quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,087,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $66,121,000 after buying an additional 51,148 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is a leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of consumer lawn and garden products. The firm serves both retail and professional customers through an array of branded offerings that include lawn fertilizers, grass seed, pest and disease control solutions, plant foods and specialty products for indoor and outdoor gardening. Its portfolio spans well-known names such as Scotts®, Miracle-Gro®, Ortho® and various hydroponic and specialty garden brands.

Headquartered in Marysville, Ohio, the company traces its roots to O.M.