The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Shares Sold by Eagle Bay Advisors LLC

Eagle Bay Advisors LLC cut its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,255 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 176 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $83,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Choreo LLC bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 2nd quarter worth about $235,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 29.2% in the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 47,338 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,080,000 after buying an additional 10,691 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 30.0% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 6,594 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $429,000 after buying an additional 1,520 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 23.1% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 51,914 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,378,000 after buying an additional 9,732 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 680,282 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $44,259,000 after acquiring an additional 39,468 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE:SMG opened at $68.74 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $72.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -99.62 and a beta of 1.73. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52 week low of $53.43 and a 52 week high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is currently -382.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 28,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.91, for a total value of $2,125,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,553,774 shares in the company, valued at $1,028,866,984.34. This trade represents a 0.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 11,359 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total value of $856,127.83. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 51,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,891,428.47. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 58,227 shares of company stock worth $4,410,268. 25.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on SMG. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed 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 target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.67.

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.