Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Stock: Insider David Evans Sells 2,655 Shares

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Director David Evans sold 2,655 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.42, for a total value of $176,345.10. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,687,400.10. This trade represents a 9.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:SMG traded up $0.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $63.81. The stock had a trading volume of 918,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,165,490. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.00. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52 week low of $47.90 and a 52 week high of $75.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.98 and a beta of 1.87.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported ($2.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.21) by $0.05. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 3.16% and a negative return on equity of 77.42%. The business had revenue of $302.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $306.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($2.63) EPS. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s quarterly revenue was down 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.78 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is currently 157.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SMG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.80.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SMG. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake 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 valued at $78,443,000 after purchasing an additional 795,970 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 895,841 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $54,475,000 after purchasing an additional 72,179 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 1st quarter valued at $50,058,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 658,602 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,050,000 after purchasing an additional 92,614 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 544,253 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,096,000 after purchasing an additional 1,486 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Profile

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company develops, manufactures and markets branded products for lawn care and gardening. Its offerings include grass seed, lawn fertilizers and weed-control products, soils, plant foods and other products for growing and maintaining lawns, gardens and landscapes. Its consumer brands include Scotts, Miracle-Gro and Ortho. The company also has a Hawthorne business that supplies equipment and products for indoor and hydroponic gardening. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s products are sold primarily in North America, with additional operations and sales in international markets.