The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Shares Purchased by Ameritas Advisory Services LLC

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,704 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $1,042,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 194.2% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 761,063 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,515,000 after purchasing an additional 502,353 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 331,925 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 278,146 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 175,719 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 151,354 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on SMG. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial lowered 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.83.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SMG opened at $71.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -103.05 and a beta of 1.73. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.24. 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is currently -382.61%.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, 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 value of $1,390,090.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 87,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,616,399.68. This trade represents a 17.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 28,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.91, for a total transaction of $2,125,480.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,553,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,028,866,984.34. This represents a 0.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 58,227 shares of company stock valued at $4,410,268. Insiders own 25.37% 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.