The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Receives $76.67 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $76.67.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SMG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 note on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial cut their target price on 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. UBS Group decreased their price target 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

SMG opened at $70.62 on Monday. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 1 year low of $53.43 and a 1 year high of $93.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $71.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.98. The firm has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a PE ratio of -102.35 and a beta of 1.73.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -382.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO James Hagedorn sold 18,368 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $1,390,090.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 87,426 shares in the company, valued at $6,616,399.68. This trade represents a 17.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.14, for a total value of $38,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,553,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,045,499,556.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 58,227 shares of company stock valued at $4,410,268 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 25.37% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. 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 buying an additional 502,353 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1,033.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 364,045 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,563,000 after acquiring an additional 331,925 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 8,330.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 281,485 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,405,000 after purchasing an additional 278,146 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 228.0% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 252,798 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $21,918,000 after purchasing an additional 175,719 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased 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 in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.