PDT Partners LLC Has $3.03 Million Holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

PDT Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 48.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 45,704 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 43,611 shares during the period. PDT Partners LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $3,032,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SMG. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 77.3% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 68.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 621 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SMG has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $72.00 to $69.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Truist Financial upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.17.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 1.2 %

SMG opened at $53.73 on Tuesday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12 month low of $46.45 and a 12 month high of $93.90. The company has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a PE ratio of -111.94 and a beta of 1.96. The company has a 50 day moving average of $56.30 and a 200 day moving average of $68.04.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.23) by $0.34. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 51.48% and a negative net margin of 0.67%. During the same period last year, the company earned ($1.45) earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is -550.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, EVP Christopher Hagedorn sold 3,568 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total transaction of $255,112.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,972 shares in the company, valued at $4,001,998. The trade was a 5.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total transaction of $99,646.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,039 shares in the company, valued at $858,748.54. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 159,937 shares of company stock worth $11,379,275. 25.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Scotts Miracle-Gro 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.