Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Has $3.34 Million Stock Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,298 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 732 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $3,337,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SMG. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 427.0% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 332 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 83.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 369 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the third quarter valued at $44,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter worth about $50,000. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

NYSE:SMG opened at $58.56 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -122.00 and a beta of 1.74. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $67.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.97. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a one year low of $58.17 and a one year high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the company posted ($1.45) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.51%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is currently -550.00%.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 11,359 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total value of $856,127.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 51,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,891,428.47. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.14, for a total transaction of $38,570.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,553,274 shares in the company, valued at $1,045,499,556.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 190,164 shares of company stock worth $13,664,064 in the last ninety days. 25.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of 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 started coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.83.

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.