Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Director Mark Kingdon Sells 831 Shares

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Director Mark Kingdon sold 831 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total value of $51,231.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,827 shares in the company, valued at $667,484.55. The trade was a 7.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of SMG opened at $62.08 on Wednesday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12-month low of $52.00 and a 12-month high of $75.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of 53.98 and a beta of 1.82. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.33.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 81.90% and a net margin of 2.19%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.59 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.39 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is currently 229.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on SMG shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $79.00 price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.40.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 26.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,524 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,569 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 149,882 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,227,000 after buying an additional 23,446 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 34.6% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 4,745 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 1,219 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 71.2% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 247,749 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,342,000 after buying an additional 102,997 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the second quarter worth about $309,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is a leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of consumer lawn and garden products. The firm serves both retail and professional customers through an array of branded offerings that include lawn fertilizers, grass seed, pest and disease control solutions, plant foods and specialty products for indoor and outdoor gardening. Its portfolio spans well-known names such as Scotts®, Miracle-Gro®, Ortho® and various hydroponic and specialty garden brands.

Headquartered in Marysville, Ohio, the company traces its roots to O.M.