HighTower Advisors LLC Has $1.91 Million Stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 27.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,947 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 8,448 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $1,914,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the second quarter worth $379,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 55.8% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,808 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 2,081 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 16,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 559,113 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 29,530 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,921,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:SMG opened at $75.16 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -108.93 and a beta of 1.71. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $80.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.74. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1 year low of $53.43 and a 1 year high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is -382.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 11,359 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $856,127.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 51,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,891,428.47. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 28,000 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.91, for a total value of $2,125,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,553,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,028,866,984.34. This represents a 0.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 58,227 shares of company stock worth $4,410,268. Company insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SMG. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective 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. Truist Financial reduced their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.50.

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.