Venturi Wealth Management LLC Grows Holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 26.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,937 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 824 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $341,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 155.1% during the 1st quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 37,172 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,773,000 after acquiring an additional 22,599 shares in the last quarter. Scientech Research LLC acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the second quarter worth about $866,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 309.5% in the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 215,717 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,035,000 after buying an additional 163,037 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 241,875 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $18,041,000 after buying an additional 32,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 672,556 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $43,756,000 after acquiring an additional 14,533 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on SMG shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total value of $6,038,270.90. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,608,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $965,232,321.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 85,130 shares of the business’s 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 $6,038,270.90. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,608,238 shares in the company, valued at $965,232,321.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 2,988 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total transaction of $211,938.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 37,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,689,665.60. The trade was 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 currently owned by insiders.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 1.1 %

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $73.58 on Wednesday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52 week low of $48.84 and a 52 week high of $93.90. The stock has a market cap of $4.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -106.64 and a beta of 1.76. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $81.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.57.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is -382.61%.

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.