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

Burney Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 16.7% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm 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 SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rise Advisors LLC lifted 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 worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 80.1% during 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 period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on SMG. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 960 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.95, for a total transaction of $74,832.00. Following the sale, the director now 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 through this hyperlink. In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 960 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 22,940 shares in the company, valued at $1,788,173. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 85,130 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $965,232,321.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 89,078 shares of company stock valued at $6,325,042. Company insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock traded up $0.48 during trading on Thursday, reaching $71.17. The company had a trading volume of 173,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 831,963. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a fifty-two week low of $43.67 and a fifty-two week high of $82.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $68.18 and its 200-day moving average is $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 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 return on equity of 41.19% and a negative net margin of 7.38%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.17 EPS. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is -42.31%.

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.