2,796 Shares in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Bought by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,796 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 427.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 332 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 83.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 369 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 80.1% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 389 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 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, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 85,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total transaction of $6,038,270.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,608,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $965,232,321.34. The trade was a 0.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 2,988 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total transaction of $211,938.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 37,920 shares in the company, valued at $2,689,665.60. This represents a 7.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

NYSE:SMG opened at $74.84 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -108.46 and a beta of 1.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $81.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.73. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52-week low of $53.43 and a 52-week high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is -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.