Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 29.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 100,958 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 41,446 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $8,753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SMG. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.1% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 44,559 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,108,000 after purchasing an additional 1,769 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 148.7% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 13,450 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $965,000 after acquiring an additional 8,042 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 15.6% during the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 241,875 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $18,041,000 after acquiring an additional 32,700 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 6.6% in the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 32,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,424,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the first quarter valued at $237,000. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 2,988 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 37,920 shares in the company, valued at $2,689,665.60. This represents a 7.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 85,130 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 13,608,238 shares in the company, valued at $965,232,321.34. The trade was a 0.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Truist Financial lowered 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, November 8th. UBS Group reduced 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. Finally, 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 research note on Monday, November 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.60.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

NYSE SMG opened at $74.84 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $81.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.73. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 12 month low of $53.43 and a 12 month high of $93.90. The company has a market capitalization of $4.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -108.46 and a beta of 1.76.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is -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.