The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its holdings in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 1.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 41,834 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 689 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $3,627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SMG. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 427.0% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 332 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SMG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research 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 on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group cut 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. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of 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 increased their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.60.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of SMG opened at $75.47 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $82.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -109.38 and a beta of 1.71. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1-year low of $53.43 and a 1-year high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company 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 of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. 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 the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $6,616,399.68. This represents a 17.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.14, for a total transaction of $38,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,553,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,045,499,556.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 46,868 shares of company stock worth $3,554,140. 26.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.