Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Sells 573 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC decreased its stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 12.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,928 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 573 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,640,383 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $239,815,000 after acquiring an additional 35,002 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,711,024 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $140,106,000 after acquiring an additional 108,593 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,011,906 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $52,295,000 after acquiring an additional 119,115 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 903,974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $46,717,000 after acquiring an additional 143,326 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 62.9% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 595,995 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,801,000 after acquiring an additional 230,155 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.40, for a total transaction of $876,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,881,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $810,671,891.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 22,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,314,347.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.40, for a total transaction of $876,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,881,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $810,671,891.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 102,750 shares of company stock valued at $6,604,492 over the last three months. Insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SMG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial cut shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $65.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, March 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $66.54 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a PE ratio of -10.66 and a beta of 1.70. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52-week low of $43.67 and a 52-week high of $77.95. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.62.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.36. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 10.14% and a negative return on equity of 20.97%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is -42.31%.

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.