Natixis Advisors L.P. Increases Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 217,671 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,126 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $13,876,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SMG. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter valued at $52,000. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 23.7% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,376 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 318.4% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 1,283 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 3.1 %

NYSE:SMG opened at $69.18 on Wednesday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a fifty-two week low of $43.67 and a fifty-two week high of $77.95. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.59. The stock has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a PE ratio of -11.09 and a beta of 1.70.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 10.14% and a negative return on equity of 20.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. Equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -42.31%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of the business’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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 86,356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total value of $5,648,545.96. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,777,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $901,154,354.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.35, for a total value of $79,945.90. Following the sale, the director now owns 22,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,314,347.30. 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. 26.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Truist Financial cut shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $75.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.00.

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.