The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Shares Sold by Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lowered its holdings in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 88.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,290 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 38,676 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $459,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. OLD National Bancorp IN grew its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.7% during the third quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 5,049 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $438,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 41.3% in the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 551 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 83.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 80.1% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 389 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group lowered 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. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.60.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

NYSE SMG traded up $2.02 on Friday, hitting $77.86. 621,169 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 814,232. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -110.83 and a beta of 1.76. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52-week low of $53.43 and a 52-week high of $93.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $81.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.80.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. 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.