Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 376,078 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Federated Hermes Inc. decreased its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 98.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,242 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 376,078 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $462,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 23.7% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,376 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 318.4% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 1,283 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 33.3% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,988 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 86,356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total value of $5,648,545.96. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,777,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $901,154,354.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.35, for a total transaction of $79,945.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 22,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,314,347.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 86,356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total value of $5,648,545.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,777,012 shares in the company, valued at $901,154,354.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 102,750 shares of company stock valued at $6,604,492. Corporate insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Truist Financial lowered Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.57.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 2.7 %

SMG opened at $70.53 on Friday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a twelve month low of $43.67 and a twelve month high of $77.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.30 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.96.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 10.14% and a negative return on equity of 20.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is -42.31%.

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.