594,428 Shares in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Acquired by Alyeska Investment Group L.P.

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 594,428 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,434,000.

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

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

NYSE SMG opened at $54.49 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -113.52 and a beta of 1.96. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12 month low of $45.61 and a 12 month high of $93.90. The company has a 50-day moving average of $55.67 and a 200-day moving average of $67.19.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.95 by $0.03. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 0.67% and a negative return on equity of 51.48%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.69 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 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 4.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -550.00%.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total transaction of $99,646.18. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $858,748.54. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their position. 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 12,123 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.86, for a total value of $810,543.78. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,432,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $898,073,615.86. This represents a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 25.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SMG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $72.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Truist Financial raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.50.

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.