AXS Investments LLC Has $1.07 Million Stock Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

AXS Investments LLC lowered its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 1.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,013 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 292 shares during the quarter. AXS Investments LLC’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $1,067,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SMG. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Pflug Koory LLC boosted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 61.0% during the second quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 475 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Edge Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 144.1% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 764 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Manhattan Co. grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 29.9% during the 4th quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 987 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SMG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 5th. Raymond James decreased their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $86.00 to $70.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $49.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 30th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, CEO James Hagedorn sold 64,260 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.69, for a total value of $3,385,859.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,218,726.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 23,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.64, for a total transaction of $1,175,723.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,970,295 shares in the company, valued at $693,485,443.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James Hagedorn sold 64,260 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.69, for a total transaction of $3,385,859.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,088 shares in the company, valued at $3,218,726.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 27.28% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 1.8 %

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock traded up $1.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $57.88. The stock had a trading volume of 1,352,675 shares, compared to its average volume of 926,694. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $50.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.92. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12-month low of $43.67 and a 12-month high of $88.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.52 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 19.50.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 1st. The basic materials company reported ($2.77) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.83) by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $374.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $332.16 million. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 10.70% and a positive return on equity of 421.70%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 24.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($2.04) earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 27th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 24th. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is -38.88%.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is involved in the manufacture, marketing, and sale of 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, other durable products, and outdoor cleaners, as well as lawn-related weed, pest, and disease control products; gardening and landscape products comprising water-soluble and continuous-release plant foods, potting mixes and garden soils, mulch and decorative groundcover products, plant-related pest and disease control products, organic garden products, and live goods and seeding solutions.