State Street Corp Buys 15,869 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

State Street Corp boosted its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,432,565 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 15,869 shares during the period. State Street Corp owned approximately 2.52% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $124,203,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $379,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 55.8% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,808 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $378,000 after acquiring an additional 2,081 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 7.8% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 16,211 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,170 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.7% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 559,113 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $36,376,000 after acquiring an additional 3,948 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 29,530 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,921,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 11,359 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total value of $856,127.83. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 51,631 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,891,428.47. This represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $38,570.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,553,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,045,499,556.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 58,227 shares of company stock worth $4,410,268. 26.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of SMG traded up $0.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $75.16. The company had a trading volume of 679,257 shares, compared to its average volume of 685,080. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $80.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.74. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1-year low of $53.43 and a 1-year high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's payout ratio is presently -382.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on SMG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on 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. UBS Group dropped their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $77.50.

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.