Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Given New $85.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) had its target price decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $85.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on SMG. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $65.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.60.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 1.0 %

SMG stock traded down $0.74 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $72.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 949,009 shares, compared to its average volume of 813,414. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 12 month low of $48.29 and a 12 month high of $93.90. The company has a 50 day moving average of $80.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -106.83 and a beta of 1.76.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported ($2.31) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.94) by ($0.37). Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 0.98% and a negative return on equity of 44.97%. The business had revenue of $414.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $392.95 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 3.69 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, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -382.61%.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 2,988 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total value of $211,938.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,689,665.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 85,130 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 $6,038,270.90. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,608,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $965,232,321.34. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 value of $211,938.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 37,920 shares in the company, valued at $2,689,665.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 26.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.0% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 5,201,683 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $338,421,000 after buying an additional 49,262 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,155,653 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $205,307,000 after purchasing an additional 42,500 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 24.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,726,338 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $203,359,000 after purchasing an additional 542,406 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 6.8% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 815,371 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,048,000 after purchasing an additional 52,136 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 194.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 502,353 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.