James Hagedorn Sells 18,368 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Stock

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) CEO James Hagedorn sold 18,368 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $1,390,090.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,616,399.68. This trade represents a 17.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 0.0 %

SMG opened at $75.47 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -109.38 and a beta of 1.71. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $82.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.39. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1-year low of $53.43 and a 1-year high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is -382.61%.

Institutional Trading of Scotts Miracle-Gro

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SMG. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.0% during the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 5,201,683 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $338,421,000 after buying an additional 49,262 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,172,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $275,082,000 after acquiring an additional 151,354 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.4% in 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 last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 6.8% during the second 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 last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SMG shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Truist Financial reduced their price target 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. UBS Group dropped their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.