The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Stock Holdings Lessened by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 29.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 100,958 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 41,446 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.18% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $8,753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 44,559 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,108,000 after acquiring an additional 1,769 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 148.7% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 13,450 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $965,000 after purchasing an additional 8,042 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its stake 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 valued at $18,041,000 after purchasing an additional 32,700 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 32,500 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,424,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the first quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SMG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 report on Thursday, November 7th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $78.60.

Insider Activity

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 2,988 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total value of $211,938.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,689,665.60. This trade represents a 7.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total value of $6,038,270.90. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,608,238 shares in the company, valued at $965,232,321.34. This trade represents a 0.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 26.46% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of SMG traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $74.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 182,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 814,378. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12-month low of $53.43 and a 12-month high of $93.90. The company's 50 day moving average is $81.45 and its 200 day moving average is $72.73. The stock has a market cap of $4.26 billion, a PE ratio of -108.46 and a beta of 1.76.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is presently -382.61%.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

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.