Analysts Set The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Target Price at $77.50

Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $77.50.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SMG. 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. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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 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. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 28,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.91, for a total transaction of $2,125,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,553,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,028,866,984.34. This represents a 0.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 11,359 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In 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

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the second quarter valued at $379,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $378,000 after acquiring an additional 2,081 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 29,530 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,921,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. &PARTNERS purchased a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $382,000. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 309.5% during the 2nd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 215,717 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,035,000 after acquiring an additional 163,037 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 1.8 %

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $68.52 on Thursday. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 12 month low of $53.43 and a 12 month high of $93.90. The company has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -99.30 and a beta of 1.71. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $79.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.81.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is currently -382.61%.

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.