Nathan Eric Baxter Sells 2,988 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Stock

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 2,988 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total value of $211,938.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,689,665.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE SMG traded up $1.80 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $71.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 412,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 837,877. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $67.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.52 and a beta of 1.76. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a one year low of $43.67 and a one year high of $82.11.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 41.19% and a negative net margin of 7.38%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.17 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is presently -42.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 72.6% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 42,928 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,202,000 after acquiring an additional 18,060 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 35,825 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at about $12,482,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 155.1% during the 1st quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 37,172 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,773,000 after acquiring an additional 22,599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carmignac Gestion bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,411,000. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.