Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 705 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Victory Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,446 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 705 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $819,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Scientech Research LLC bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the second quarter worth about $866,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 309.5% in the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 215,717 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,035,000 after buying an additional 163,037 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.2% in the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 672,556 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $43,756,000 after buying an additional 14,533 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 194.2% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 761,063 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,515,000 after purchasing an additional 502,353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 12.0% during the second quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 71,412 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,646,000 after purchasing an additional 7,644 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of SMG stock opened at $75.77 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -109.81 and a beta of 1.76. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a one year low of $53.43 and a one year high of $93.90. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $82.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.08.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is -382.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SMG. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group cut their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.60.

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.