The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $76.67.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SMG. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group cut their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro 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 owns 13,553,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,045,499,556.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 11,359 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $856,127.83. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 51,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,891,428.47. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 58,227 shares of company stock worth $4,410,268. 25.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Scientech Research LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the second quarter valued at approximately $866,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 672,556 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $43,756,000 after purchasing an additional 14,533 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 194.2% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 761,063 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,515,000 after purchasing an additional 502,353 shares during the last quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the third quarter valued at $10,162,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 202.2% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 25,140 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,180,000 after buying an additional 16,821 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SMG opened at $66.26 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a PE ratio of -96.03 and a beta of 1.73. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 52-week low of $53.43 and a 52-week high of $93.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $72.84 and a 200 day moving average of $73.95.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -382.61%.

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.