International Assets Investment Management LLC Reduces Stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

International Assets Investment Management LLC lessened its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 98.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,461 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 278,024 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $227,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake 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 last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 112.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 58,918 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,171,000 after buying an additional 7,206 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5,300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 702 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 689 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 related news, CEO James Hagedorn sold 18,368 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,426 shares in the company, valued at $6,616,399.68. The trade was a 17.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 11,359 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $856,127.83. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 51,631 shares in the company, valued at $3,891,428.47. This represents a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 58,227 shares of company stock valued at $4,410,268. Insiders own 25.37% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

SMG opened at $68.74 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -99.62 and a beta of 1.73. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12 month low of $53.43 and a 12 month high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.84%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is -382.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on SMG shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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 Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.67.

Scotts Miracle-Gro 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.