The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) CEO Sells $10,213,973.48 in Stock

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 88,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,319,463.60. The trade was a 61.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

James Hagedorn also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, December 4th, James Hagedorn sold 18,368 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $1,390,090.24.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 0.3 %

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $69.46 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $70.74 and a 200-day moving average of $74.78. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a twelve month low of $53.43 and a twelve month high of $93.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a PE ratio of -144.70 and a beta of 1.74.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm posted ($1.45) earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is presently -549.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SMG has been the subject of a number of recent 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.83.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SMG. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 427.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 332 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 83.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 369 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

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.