The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Shares Sold by MML Investors Services LLC

MML Investors Services LLC lessened its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 3.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 51,543 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,106 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $4,469,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 5,049 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $438,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% in the third quarter. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,845 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 83.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 369 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.6% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 3,944 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 25.8% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 854 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:SMG opened at $75.22 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $80.87 and a 200-day moving average of $73.68. The firm has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -109.01 and a beta of 1.71. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a twelve month low of $53.43 and a twelve month high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is currently -382.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SMG shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 28,000 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.91, for a total value of $2,125,480.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,553,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,028,866,984.34. The trade was a 0.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James Hagedorn sold 18,368 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $1,390,090.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,616,399.68. This represents a 17.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 58,227 shares of company stock worth $4,410,268. 26.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

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.