The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $75.83.

Several equities analysts have commented on SMG shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 28,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.91, for a total transaction of $2,125,480.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,553,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,028,866,984.34. This represents a 0.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Hagedorn sold 18,368 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 87,426 shares in the company, valued at $6,616,399.68. This represents a 17.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 58,227 shares of company stock worth $4,410,268 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 25.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Scotts Miracle-Gro

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,954 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $660,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,704 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,042,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,839 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $586,000 after purchasing an additional 1,934 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 219,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,439,000 after buying an additional 9,684 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 112.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 0.8 %

SMG stock opened at $70.29 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -101.87 and a beta of 1.73. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $71.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.13. Scotts Miracle-Gro 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is currently -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.