Insider Selling: Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Director Sells $51,231.15 in Stock

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Director Mark Kingdon sold 831 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.65, for a total value of $51,231.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $667,484.55. The trade was a 7.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $61.79 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.32. The company has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a PE ratio of 53.73 and a beta of 1.82. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a one year low of $52.00 and a one year high of $75.34.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.34. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 81.90% and a net margin of 2.19%.The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 4.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 229.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SMG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group boosted their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.40.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SMG. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,522,093 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $100,397,000 after purchasing an additional 16,298 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 161.1% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,289,974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $78,443,000 after buying an additional 795,970 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,165,367 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $66,368,000 after buying an additional 265,677 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,157,714 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $67,553,000 after buying an additional 2,899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,087,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $66,121,000 after buying an additional 51,148 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.