Quantbot Technologies LP Lowers Holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Quantbot Technologies LP decreased its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 51.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,977 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 57,862 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP owned 0.10% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $4,767,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Scientech Research LLC acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the second quarter valued at $866,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $14,035,000 after buying an additional 163,037 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.2% during the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 672,556 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $43,756,000 after acquiring an additional 14,533 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 194.2% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 761,063 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $49,515,000 after acquiring an additional 502,353 shares during the period. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 12.0% during the second quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 71,412 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,646,000 after acquiring an additional 7,644 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 2.6 %

SMG stock traded down $2.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $75.77. The stock had a trading volume of 678,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 815,950. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52-week low of $53.43 and a 52-week high of $93.90. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $82.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.08. The company has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -109.64 and a beta of 1.76.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is currently -382.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SMG. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. UBS Group cut their price objective 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 lowered 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $78.60.

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.