The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Shares Purchased by Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 19.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. De Lisle Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $10,162,000. Algert Global LLC boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 202.2% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 25,140 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,180,000 after purchasing an additional 16,821 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,172,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $275,082,000 after purchasing an additional 151,354 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,110,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 63.5% in the 3rd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 56,337 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,884,000 after purchasing an additional 21,872 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SMG opened at $62.23 on Monday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12 month low of $55.68 and a 12 month high of $93.90. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -129.63 and a beta of 1.79.

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

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is currently -550.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SMG shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.00.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 12,123 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.86, for a total value of $810,543.78. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,432,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $898,073,615.86. This represents a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total value of $99,646.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $858,748.54. This trade represents a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 159,937 shares of company stock valued at $11,379,275. 25.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.