The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Stake Lessened by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. lowered its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 48.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,521 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,228 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 41.3% in the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 80.1% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 389 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.6% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 3,944 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 18,313 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 135.2% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

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

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

NYSE SMG opened at $86.71 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.54. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a twelve month low of $43.67 and a twelve month high of $88.35. The stock has a market cap of $4.93 billion, a PE ratio of -13.90 and a beta of 1.75.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is currently -42.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on SMG. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a 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 company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.00.

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.