Vista Investment Partners LLC Sells 1,133 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Vista Investment Partners LLC lessened its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 7.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,144 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,133 shares during the quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SMG. Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 80.1% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 389 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 41.3% during the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on SMG. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price 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, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock traded down $0.31 on Friday, reaching $72.28. 604,346 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 991,351. The company has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.58 and a beta of 1.76. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52 week low of $43.67 and a 52 week high of $82.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $67.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.78.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.42. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 7.38% and a negative return on equity of 41.19%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.17 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is presently -42.31%.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 960 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was 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 directly owns 22,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,788,173. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 26.46% of the stock is owned by 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.