Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Lowers Stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC cut its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,983 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,523 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $4,908,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SMG. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1,033.4% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 364,045 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,563,000 after buying an additional 331,925 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 8,330.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 281,485 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $24,405,000 after buying an additional 278,146 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 228.0% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 252,798 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $21,918,000 after purchasing an additional 175,719 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5.0% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,172,800 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $275,082,000 after buying an additional 151,354 shares in the last quarter. Finally, De Lisle Partners LLP bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $10,162,000. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $71.85. 1,181,004 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 689,237. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $71.51 and a 200-day moving average of $74.63. The company has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a PE ratio of -104.13 and a beta of 1.73. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12 month low of $53.43 and a 12 month high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.23) by $0.34. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 0.98% and a negative return on equity of 44.97%. During the same period last year, the company posted ($1.45) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is currently -382.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 500 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.14, for a total value of $38,570.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,553,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,045,499,556.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 11,359 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total value of $856,127.83. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 51,631 shares in the company, valued at $3,891,428.47. This represents a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 58,227 shares of company stock worth $4,410,268 over the last 90 days. 25.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on SMG shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a "hold" rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $75.83.

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.