Van ECK Associates Corp Has $6.36 Million Holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 114.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 73,458 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 39,196 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.13% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $6,361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 427.0% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake 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. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 80.1% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 389 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 85,130 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 85,130 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total value of $6,038,270.90. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,608,238 shares in the company, valued at $965,232,321.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 2,988 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total transaction of $211,938.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,689,665.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 26.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SMG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $78.60.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock traded down $1.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $71.82. The company had a trading volume of 780,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 812,639. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.40. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1-year low of $48.29 and a 1-year high of $93.90. The company has a market capitalization of $4.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -106.83 and a beta of 1.76.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported ($2.31) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.94) by ($0.37). Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 0.98% and a negative return on equity of 44.97%. The firm had revenue of $414.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $392.95 million. Sell-side analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's payout ratio is presently -382.61%.

Scotts Miracle-Gro 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.