Empowered Funds LLC Takes $421,000 Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,851 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $421,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $220,000. Metis Global Partners LLC acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter worth $218,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the third quarter worth $227,000. Aigen Investment Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 170.8% in the third quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 9,657 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $837,000 after buying an additional 6,091 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,110,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on SMG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Truist Financial cut their price target 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, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.60.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

NYSE SMG opened at $77.86 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $82.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.92. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52 week low of $53.43 and a 52 week high of $93.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -112.84 and a beta of 1.76.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is presently -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.