Sterling Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 53.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,722 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 944 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $181,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter worth about $44,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 77.3% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 68.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 621 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on SMG. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $72.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.56, for a total transaction of $10,213,973.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 88,310 shares in the company, valued at $6,319,463.60. This trade represents a 61.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Hagedorn sold 3,568 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $255,112.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,001,998. This represents a 5.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 159,937 shares of company stock valued at $11,379,275 in the last quarter. 25.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

NYSE SMG opened at $51.31 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -106.89 and a beta of 1.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $57.52 and a 200 day moving average of $69.15. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a one year low of $46.45 and a one year high of $93.90.

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

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.15%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is currently -550.00%.

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.