UBS Group Has Lowered Expectations for Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Stock Price

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) had its price target lowered by UBS Group from $77.00 to $72.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on SMG. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.83.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SMG opened at $70.29 on Thursday. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 1 year low of $53.43 and a 1 year high of $93.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $71.72 and its 200 day moving average is $74.06. The company has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a PE ratio of -101.87 and a beta of 1.73.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a $0.66 dividend. 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 3.76%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is currently -382.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 11,359 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total value of $856,127.83. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 51,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,891,428.47. This represents a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 500 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.14, for a total value of $38,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,553,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,045,499,556.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 58,227 shares of company stock worth $4,410,268 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 25.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Scientech Research LLC purchased a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 2nd quarter valued at $866,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.2% during the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 672,556 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $43,756,000 after buying an additional 14,533 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 194.2% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 761,063 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,515,000 after buying an additional 502,353 shares during the last quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 3rd quarter worth about $10,162,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC lifted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 202.2% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 25,140 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,180,000 after acquiring an additional 16,821 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

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.