UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Sells 9,414 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC cut its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 8.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 102,331 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 9,414 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.18% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $8,872,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 427.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 332 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 83.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 369 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. 74.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on SMG shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $77.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other news, CEO James Hagedorn sold 18,368 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $1,390,090.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,426 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,616,399.68. This represents a 17.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 28,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was 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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 46,868 shares of company stock worth $3,554,140 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 26.46% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Down 1.4 %

SMG stock traded down $1.03 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $74.44. 937,644 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 812,989. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a twelve month low of $53.43 and a twelve month high of $93.90. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -107.88 and a beta of 1.71.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.