The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $76.67.

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of 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. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,553,274 shares in the company, valued at $1,045,499,556.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Hagedorn sold 18,368 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 87,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,616,399.68. The trade was a 17.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 58,227 shares of company stock worth $4,410,268. 25.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 427.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 332 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 83.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 369 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE:SMG opened at $66.26 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a PE ratio of -96.03 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.95. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 12 month low of $53.43 and a 12 month high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is -382.61%.

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.