Independent Family Office LLC Sells 7,040 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Independent Family Office LLC reduced its stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 16.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,460 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 7,040 shares during the quarter. Scotts Miracle-Gro accounts for approximately 1.3% of Independent Family Office LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Independent Family Office LLC owned about 0.06% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $2,324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 146.1% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 406 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Resources Management Corp CT ADV boosted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2,025.0% during the 2nd quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 425 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, First Manhattan Co. boosted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 29.9% during the 4th quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 987 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 22,918 shares in the company, valued at $1,314,347.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 86,356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total transaction of $5,648,545.96. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,777,012 shares in the company, valued at $901,154,354.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 22,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,314,347.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 102,750 shares of company stock valued at $6,604,492 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Truist Financial lowered shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $75.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 0.7 %

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $68.23. The stock had a trading volume of 168,769 shares, compared to its average volume of 754,132. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $66.05 and its 200 day moving average is $59.30. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a one year low of $43.67 and a one year high of $77.95.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The basic materials company reported ($1.45) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.62) by $0.17. The company had revenue of $410.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $412.83 million. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 11.52% and a negative return on equity of 44.37%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s quarterly revenue was down 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.02) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.87%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -37.50%.

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.