Key Points
- Director Stephen Johnson sold 1,171 Scotts Miracle-Gro shares for approximately $80,003, reducing his direct holdings by 3.74% to 30,179 shares.
- Scotts Miracle-Gro reported quarterly EPS of $2.82, beating estimates of $2.48, while revenue reached $1.17 billion and increased 1.1% year over year.
- The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, equivalent to an annualized $2.64 and a 4.0% yield; analysts’ consensus rating remains “Hold,” with a $75.20 target price.
The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) Director Stephen Johnson sold 1,171 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total value of $80,002.72. Following the sale, the director directly owned 30,179 shares in the company, valued at $2,061,829.28. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.
Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 3.8%
NYSE:SMG opened at $65.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.82 billion, a PE ratio of 57.15 and a beta of 1.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $64.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.27. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12-month low of $52.00 and a 12-month high of $75.34.
Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 81.90% and a net margin of 2.19%.Scotts Miracle-Gro's revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.59 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.35 EPS for the current year.
Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is presently 229.57%.
Institutional Trading of Scotts Miracle-Gro
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SMG. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,522,093 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $100,397,000 after buying an additional 16,298 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 161.1% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,289,974 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $78,443,000 after buying an additional 795,970 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,165,367 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $66,368,000 after buying an additional 265,677 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,157,714 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $67,553,000 after buying an additional 2,899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,087,339 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $66,121,000 after acquiring an additional 51,148 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $75.20.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Scotts Miracle-Gro
About Scotts Miracle-Gro
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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