Burney Co. Decreases Stock Holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Burney Co. reduced its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 16.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,928 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,600 shares during the period. Burney Co.’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $841,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SMG. Rise Advisors LLC raised its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 135.2% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 80.1% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 389 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the second quarter worth $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SMG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

NYSE SMG traded up $0.48 on Thursday, reaching $71.17. 173,382 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 831,963. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12 month low of $43.67 and a 12 month high of $82.11. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $68.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.54. The company has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.33 and a beta of 1.76.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 7.38% and a negative return on equity of 41.19%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is presently -42.31%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 960 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.95, for a total transaction of $74,832.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 22,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,788,173. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 960 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.95, for a total value of $74,832.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 22,940 shares in the company, valued at $1,788,173. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 85,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total value of $6,038,270.90. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,608,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $965,232,321.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 89,078 shares of company stock worth $6,325,042. Corporate insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

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.