Sanctuary Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,285 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,911 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC owned 0.05% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $2,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SMG. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 194.2% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 761,063 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,515,000 after purchasing an additional 502,353 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1,033.4% in the third 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 last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 8,330.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 281,485 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $24,405,000 after buying an additional 278,146 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake 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 last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 309.5% in the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 215,717 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,035,000 after buying an additional 163,037 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, CEO James Hagedorn sold 18,368 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 87,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,616,399.68. This represents a 17.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 11,359 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total value of $856,127.83. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 51,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,891,428.47. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 58,227 shares of company stock valued at $4,410,268 over the last quarter. 26.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of SMG stock opened at $72.46 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -105.01 and a beta of 1.71. The business’s 50 day moving average is $80.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.86. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12-month low of $53.43 and a 12-month high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is currently -382.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.50.

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.