Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 250 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 146.1% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 406 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Resources Management Corp CT ADV grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2,025.0% during the second quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 425 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, First Manhattan Co. grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 29.9% during the fourth quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 987 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.35, for a total value of $79,945.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 22,918 shares in the company, valued at $1,314,347.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.35, for a total transaction of $79,945.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 22,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,314,347.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 86,356 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total transaction of $5,648,545.96. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,777,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $901,154,354.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 102,750 shares of company stock worth $6,604,492 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 2.7 %

NYSE SMG opened at $74.31 on Thursday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52-week low of $43.67 and a 52-week high of $78.25. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $63.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.10. The firm has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.56 and a beta of 1.70.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The basic materials company reported ($1.45) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.62) by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $410.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $412.83 million. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 11.52% and a negative return on equity of 44.37%. The firm’s revenue was down 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($1.02) earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is currently -37.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on SMG. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com lowered Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.29.

Scotts Miracle-Gro 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.