38,486 Shares in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Acquired by Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 38,486 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,553,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned about 0.07% of Scotts Miracle-Gro at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SMG. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 13.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 58,918 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,171,000 after buying an additional 7,206 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 112.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,839 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $586,000 after buying an additional 1,934 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,704 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,042,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 25.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on SMG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.50.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of SMG opened at $54.00 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $55.28 and its 200 day moving average is $65.86. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a fifty-two week low of $45.61 and a fifty-two week high of $93.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of -112.50 and a beta of 1.98.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.95 by $0.03. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 0.67% and a negative return on equity of 51.48%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.69 earnings per share. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is presently 528.00%.

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.