Nordea Investment Management AB Grows Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 219,532 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,684 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned 0.38% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $14,439,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Scientech Research LLC acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 2nd quarter worth $866,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its position 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 last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 194.2% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 761,063 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $49,515,000 after acquiring an additional 502,353 shares in the last quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 3rd quarter valued at about $10,162,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC lifted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 202.2% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 25,140 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,180,000 after purchasing an additional 16,821 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SMG shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased 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 report on Friday, November 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $76.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 28,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.91, for a total value of $2,125,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,553,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,028,866,984.34. This trade represents a 0.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 11,359 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $856,127.83. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 51,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,891,428.47. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 58,227 shares of company stock valued at $4,410,268 over the last quarter. 25.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 0.6 %

SMG stock traded up $0.39 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $67.30. 423,348 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 527,770. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -97.54 and a beta of 1.73. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12-month low of $53.43 and a 12-month high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.92%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -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.