Pathway Financial Advisers LLC Acquires New Stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 6,422 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $479,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 318.4% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 1,283 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 7,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at about $248,000. Avitas Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,345,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4,927.1% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 228,178 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,546,000 after acquiring an additional 223,639 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 4.7 %

Shares of NYSE SMG traded down $3.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $71.66. The company had a trading volume of 1,168,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,051,856. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1 year low of $43.67 and a 1 year high of $82.11. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $66.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.79. The company has a market capitalization of $4.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.49 and a beta of 1.76.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.42. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 41.19% and a negative net margin of 7.38%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is -42.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SMG has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Truist Financial lowered shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.00.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 31,000 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.67, for a total transaction of $2,159,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,746,012 shares in the company, valued at $957,684,656.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 960 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.95, for a total transaction of $74,832.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,788,173. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 31,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.67, for a total transaction of $2,159,770.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,746,012 shares in the company, valued at $957,684,656.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 26.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.