Fox Run Management L.L.C. Acquires Shares of 7,385 The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,385 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $490,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 344.2% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 80,434 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,974,000 after purchasing an additional 62,327 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 53.6% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,880 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,117,000 after buying an additional 4,496 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 202.2% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 25,140 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,180,000 after buying an additional 16,821 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the third quarter worth approximately $980,000. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 2.9 %

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $56.77 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a PE ratio of -118.27 and a beta of 1.79. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12-month low of $55.68 and a 12-month high of $93.90. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $65.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.70.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by $0.34. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 0.67% and a negative return on equity of 51.48%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.45) EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is -550.00%.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 13,039 shares in the company, valued at $858,748.54. This trade represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.56, for a total transaction of $10,213,973.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 88,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,319,463.60. This trade represents a 61.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 159,937 shares of company stock valued at $11,379,275 in the last 90 days. 25.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SMG has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a 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 set a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.00.

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.