JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Stock Price

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) had its price objective trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $85.00 to $80.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

SMG has been the topic of a number of other reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group cut their price objective on 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 raised their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $65.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.60.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $72.60 on Thursday. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a 52 week low of $48.29 and a 52 week high of $93.90. The stock has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a PE ratio of -105.22 and a beta of 1.76. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $80.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.46.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is -382.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 85,130 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total transaction of $6,038,270.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,608,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $965,232,321.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 2,988 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 $211,938.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 37,920 shares in the company, valued at $2,689,665.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 85,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total transaction of $6,038,270.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,608,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $965,232,321.34. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Scotts Miracle-Gro

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 24.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,726,338 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $203,359,000 after purchasing an additional 542,406 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 194.2% in 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 buying an additional 502,353 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 18.2% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,113,153 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $232,210,000 after buying an additional 479,315 shares during the last quarter. Interval Partners LP raised its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 3,581.1% during the first quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 478,546 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,695,000 after acquiring an additional 465,546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 8,330.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 281,485 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,405,000 after acquiring an additional 278,146 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

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.