Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Now Covered by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage set a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 2.35% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.50.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of SMG stock opened at $73.74 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $81.55 and a 200 day moving average of $73.61. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 1-year low of $53.43 and a 1-year high of $93.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.23 billion, a PE ratio of -106.86 and a beta of 1.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.14, for a total transaction of $38,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,553,274 shares in the company, valued at $1,045,499,556.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Hagedorn sold 18,368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $1,390,090.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 87,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,616,399.68. The trade was a 17.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 58,227 shares of company stock worth $4,410,268. Insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 5,201,683 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $338,421,000 after acquiring an additional 49,262 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5.0% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,172,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $275,082,000 after purchasing an additional 151,354 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.4% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,155,653 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $205,307,000 after purchasing an additional 42,500 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,432,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $124,203,000 after buying an additional 15,869 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 815,371 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $53,048,000 after buying an additional 52,136 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

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.