Wellington Shields & Co. LLC Sells 354 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Wellington Shields & Co. LLC reduced its position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 6.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 354 shares during the period. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 72.6% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 42,928 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,202,000 after buying an additional 18,060 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 18.4% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 230,616 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,218,000 after purchasing an additional 35,825 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter worth $12,482,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 155.1% during the first quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 37,172 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,773,000 after purchasing an additional 22,599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 309.5% during the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 215,717 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,035,000 after purchasing an additional 163,037 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 2,988 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total value of $211,938.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 37,920 shares in the company, valued at $2,689,665.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 960 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.95, for a total transaction of $74,832.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 22,940 shares in the company, valued at $1,788,173. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 2,988 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total value of $211,938.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,689,665.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 89,078 shares of company stock worth $6,325,042 in the last quarter. 26.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $67.01 on Wednesday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1 year low of $43.67 and a 1 year high of $82.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $68.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.34. The stock has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.74 and a beta of 1.75.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.42. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 7.38% and a negative return on equity of 41.19%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.62 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is presently -42.31%.

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.