Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Has $2.16 Million Holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,866 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 843 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $2,159,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 7,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 23.7% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,376 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 6.9% during the third quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 4,501 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 3.3% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 11,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisor OS LLC increased its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 9,608 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 2.7 %

SMG stock traded up $1.87 during trading on Friday, reaching $70.54. 937,423 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 703,000. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.18. The company has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.30 and a beta of 1.70. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a twelve month low of $43.67 and a twelve month high of $77.95.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 20.97% and a negative net margin of 10.14%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.65 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is -42.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial cut shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $65.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $72.57.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $810,671,891.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.40, for a total value of $876,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,881,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $810,671,891.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.35, for a total transaction of $79,945.90. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,314,347.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 102,750 shares of company stock valued at $6,604,492. Company insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

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.