EFG Asset Management North America Corp. Has $2.66 Million Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

EFG Asset Management North America Corp. raised its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 59.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 40,028 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,862 shares during the period. EFG Asset Management North America Corp.’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $2,658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.7% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 30,264 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,624,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 344.2% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 80,434 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,974,000 after buying an additional 62,327 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 53.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,880 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,117,000 after acquiring an additional 4,496 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 16,821 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $980,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, EVP Christopher Hagedorn sold 3,568 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $255,112.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,001,998. The trade was a 5.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 13,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $858,748.54. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 159,937 shares of company stock worth $11,379,275. Insiders own 25.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SMG opened at $56.77 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $65.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.70. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a one year low of $55.68 and a one year high of $93.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a PE ratio of -118.27 and a beta of 1.79.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released 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 return on equity of 51.48% and a negative net margin of 0.67%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($1.45) EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.65%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is presently -550.00%.

Scotts Miracle-Gro 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.