Barnett & Company Inc. Has $3.27 Million Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Barnett & Company Inc. cut its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,214 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Scotts Miracle-Gro accounts for 2.1% of Barnett & Company Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Barnett & Company Inc.’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $3,265,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. De Lisle Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $10,162,000. Algert Global LLC increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 202.2% in the 3rd 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. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 3,134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $208,000 after buying an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 63.5% during the 3rd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 56,337 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,884,000 after acquiring an additional 21,872 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of SMG opened at $57.90 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -120.61 and a beta of 1.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $65.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.85. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the business earned ($1.45) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.56%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is -550.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SMG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Finally, 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 research note on Thursday, January 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.00.

Insider Activity

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, EVP Christopher Hagedorn sold 3,568 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $255,112.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,001,998. This represents a 5.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.56, for a total transaction of $10,213,973.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 159,937 shares of company stock valued at $11,379,275 over the last three months. 25.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.