Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued a hold rating and a $72.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on SMG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of 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 objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.50.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE SMG opened at $74.44 on Monday. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a twelve month low of $53.43 and a twelve month high of $93.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -107.88 and a beta of 1.71. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $81.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.55.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -382.61%.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, CEO James Hagedorn sold 18,368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,616,399.68. This represents a 17.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 500 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro 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 sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,868 shares of company stock valued at $3,554,140. Corporate insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Scotts Miracle-Gro

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 5,201,683 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $338,421,000 after purchasing an additional 49,262 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised 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 during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.4% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,155,653 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $205,307,000 after purchasing an additional 42,500 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,432,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $124,203,000 after purchasing an additional 15,869 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 815,371 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $53,048,000 after purchasing an additional 52,136 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

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.