Empower Advisory Group LLC Sells 4,649 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Empower Advisory Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 55.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,728 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,649 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $323,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SMG. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 5,201,683 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $338,421,000 after purchasing an additional 49,262 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.4% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 24.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,726,338 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $203,359,000 after purchasing an additional 542,406 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 815,371 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,048,000 after purchasing an additional 52,136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 2,988 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 37,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,689,665.60. This trade represents a 7.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 85,130 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 13,608,238 shares in the company, valued at $965,232,321.34. The trade was a 0.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 26.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SMG shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of 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 lowered their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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 research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.60.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SMG opened at $74.41 on Friday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a one year low of $53.43 and a one year high of $93.90. The company has a 50 day moving average of $81.31 and a 200-day moving average of $72.63. The stock has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -107.84 and a beta of 1.76.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is -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.