Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Price Target Cut to $83.00

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) had its price target decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $83.00 in a research note released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

SMG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Truist Financial cut shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a buy rating to a hold rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Raymond James reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $73.00.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

NYSE SMG traded up $0.59 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $71.13. 183,559 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 755,736. The company has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.30 and a beta of 1.70. The company’s 50-day moving average is $69.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.26. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a one year low of $43.67 and a one year high of $77.95.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.33 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 10.14% and a negative return on equity of 20.97%. The firm’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 2.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 23rd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is -42.31%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.35, for a total transaction of $79,945.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 22,918 shares in the company, valued at $1,314,347.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 1,394 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.35, for a total value of $79,945.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 22,918 shares in the company, valued at $1,314,347.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.40, for a total value of $876,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,881,368 shares in the company, valued at approximately $810,671,891.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 102,750 shares of company stock valued at $6,604,492 over the last ninety days. 26.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,336,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,699,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2,810.8% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 313,548 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $16,204,000 after acquiring an additional 302,776 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 484.4% during the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 314,997 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,279,000 after acquiring an additional 261,097 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 62.9% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 595,995 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,801,000 after purchasing an additional 230,155 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.