Quantinno Capital Management LP Lowers Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Quantinno Capital Management LP trimmed its stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 87,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 22,040 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP owned 0.15% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $7,562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SMG. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 5,201,683 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $338,421,000 after buying an additional 49,262 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5.0% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,172,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $275,082,000 after acquiring an additional 151,354 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.4% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,155,653 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $205,307,000 after purchasing an additional 42,500 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 815,371 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $53,048,000 after purchasing an additional 52,136 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 502,353 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SMG opened at $75.49 on Friday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1-year low of $53.43 and a 1-year high of $93.90. The company has a market capitalization of $4.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -109.41 and a beta of 1.71. The business has a 50-day moving average of $82.41 and a 200-day moving average of $73.34.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is presently -382.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.14, for a total transaction of $38,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,553,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,045,499,556.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James Hagedorn sold 18,368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction 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 $6,616,399.68. The trade was a 17.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,868 shares of company stock worth $3,554,140 over the last 90 days. 26.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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 report on Friday, November 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group lowered their price objective 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, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note 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 research note on Thursday, November 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Scotts Miracle-Gro presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.60.

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.