Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Has $325,000 Holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 51.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,754 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,918 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the third quarter worth $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 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. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 83.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 369 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 80.1% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 389 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SMG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group lowered their price target 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 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, 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. Five equities research 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 85,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total transaction of $6,038,270.90. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,608,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $965,232,321.34. The trade was a 0.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 2,988 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total transaction of $211,938.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,689,665.60. The trade was a 7.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 0.1 %

SMG opened at $74.41 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -107.84 and a beta of 1.76. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12 month low of $53.43 and a 12 month high of $93.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $81.31 and a 200 day moving average of $72.69.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is presently -382.61%.

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.