Tortoise Investment Management LLC Buys 225 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 77.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $34,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,986,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter worth $2,139,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 125.2% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,975 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $396,000 after buying an additional 3,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 42,303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,807,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:SMG opened at $62.02 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -129.21 and a beta of 1.79. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $66.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.46. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52 week low of $55.68 and a 52 week 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) EPS for the quarter, beating 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 in the prior year, the business posted ($1.45) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.26%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is -550.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Christopher Hagedorn sold 3,568 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $255,112.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,001,998. This trade represents a 5.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total transaction of $99,646.18. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $858,748.54. This represents a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 159,937 shares of company stock valued at $11,379,275. 25.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company 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.