The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Shares Sold by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp cut its holdings in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 90.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,726 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 66,732 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $446,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. De Lisle Partners LLP acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the third quarter valued at $10,162,000. Algert Global LLC raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 202.2% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 25,140 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,180,000 after acquiring an additional 16,821 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5.0% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,172,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $275,082,000 after acquiring an additional 151,354 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter worth about $1,110,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 63.5% in the third quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 56,337 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,884,000 after acquiring an additional 21,872 shares during the period. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.14, for a total value of $38,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,553,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,045,499,556.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Hagedorn sold 18,368 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $1,390,090.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,616,399.68. This trade represents a 17.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 218,164 shares of company stock valued at $15,789,544. Corporate insiders own 25.37% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 4.1 %

SMG stock opened at $60.32 on Friday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52 week low of $56.01 and a 52 week high of $93.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -125.66 and a beta of 1.74. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.33.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by $0.34. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 0.67% and a negative return on equity of 51.48%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.45) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.38%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is presently -549.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SMG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.83.

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.