Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. Sells 50,000 Shares

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.40, for a total transaction of $3,320,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,167,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $874,331,362.40. The trade was a 0.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 2.4%

NYSE:SMG traded up $1.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $68.36. 861,700 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 908,550. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.50 and a beta of 1.98. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1 year low of $45.61 and a 1 year high of $70.67. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.23.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The basic materials company reported ($0.77) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.04) by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $354.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.25 million. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 68.59% and a net margin of 2.68%.The business’s revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.89) earnings per share. Scotts Miracle-Gro has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.150-4.35 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is 179.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SMG. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,522,093 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $100,397,000 after buying an additional 16,298 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 29.5% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,165,367 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $66,368,000 after acquiring an additional 265,677 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 14.5% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,154,815 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $65,767,000 after acquiring an additional 146,192 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 43.5% in the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,036,191 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,462,000 after purchasing an additional 314,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 26.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 898,519 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $51,171,000 after purchasing an additional 187,130 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SMG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $70.00 price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group set a $67.00 target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.00.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is a leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of consumer lawn and garden products. The firm serves both retail and professional customers through an array of branded offerings that include lawn fertilizers, grass seed, pest and disease control solutions, plant foods and specialty products for indoor and outdoor gardening. Its portfolio spans well-known names such as Scotts®, Miracle-Gro®, Ortho® and various hydroponic and specialty garden brands.

Headquartered in Marysville, Ohio, the company traces its roots to O.M.