Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Acquires Shares of 3,848 The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,848 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $245,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,640,383 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $239,815,000 after acquiring an additional 35,002 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC raised its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.2% during the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,711,024 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $140,106,000 after acquiring an additional 108,593 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 13.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,011,906 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $52,295,000 after purchasing an additional 119,115 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 903,974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $46,717,000 after buying an additional 143,326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 62.9% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 595,995 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,801,000 after acquiring an additional 230,155 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

SMG opened at $68.26 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $69.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a PE ratio of -10.94 and a beta of 1.70. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a one year low of $43.67 and a one year high of $77.95.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.36. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 20.97% and a negative net margin of 10.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.87%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is currently -42.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.40, for a total transaction of $876,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,881,368 shares in the company, valued at $810,671,891.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,314,347.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.40, for a total transaction of $876,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,881,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $810,671,891.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 133,750 shares of company stock valued at $8,764,262. Company insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on SMG. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.00.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

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.