Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Sells 38,676 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board cut its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 88.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 38,676 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 80.1% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 389 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 427.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 332 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the period. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on SMG. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of 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. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. Five equities research 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.60.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 1.7 %

SMG opened at $76.47 on Friday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12-month low of $53.43 and a 12-month high of $93.90. The business has a 50 day moving average of $81.98 and a 200-day moving average of $72.80. The stock has a market cap of $4.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -110.83 and a beta of 1.76.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors 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 3.45%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is currently -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.