The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Shares Bought by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,172,800 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 151,354 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned 5.58% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $275,082,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SMG. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 80.1% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 389 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 427.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 332 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on SMG. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective 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. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.60.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE SMG traded up $1.28 during trading on Thursday, hitting $76.47. 622,850 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 815,020. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.80. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12-month low of $53.43 and a 12-month high of $93.90. The company has a market capitalization of $4.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -110.83 and a beta of 1.76.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's payout ratio is -382.61%.

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.