Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Price Target to $60.00

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) had its target price reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $60.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

SMG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.80.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of SMG opened at $49.38 on Monday. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a one year low of $47.90 and a one year high of $75.34. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $57.78 and its 200-day moving average is $61.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.94 and a beta of 1.87.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a net margin of 2.19% and a negative return on equity of 81.90%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.59 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Scotts Miracle-Gro will post 4.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is currently 229.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.45, for a total transaction of $2,023,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,137,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $886,133,885.45. This represents a 0.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen Johnson sold 1,171 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total transaction of $80,002.72. Following the sale, the director owned 30,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,061,829.28. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 32,002 shares of company stock worth $2,154,734 in the last ninety days. 24.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 161.1% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,289,974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $78,443,000 after purchasing an additional 795,970 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,087,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $66,121,000 after purchasing an additional 51,148 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 895,841 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $54,475,000 after purchasing an additional 72,179 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 1st quarter worth about $50,058,000. Finally, Interval Partners LP increased its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 82.3% in the 4th quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 807,061 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $47,092,000 after purchasing an additional 364,285 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Profile

Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is a consumer-focused lawn and garden products company headquartered in Marysville, Ohio. Founded in 1868, the company develops, manufactures and markets products that help consumers grow and maintain lawns, gardens and outdoor spaces.

Its portfolio includes lawn fertilizers, grass seed, plant foods, gardening products, pest-control solutions and related outdoor-care items. Key consumer brands have included Scotts, Miracle-Gro, Ortho and Tomcat, with products sold through home-improvement retailers, mass merchants, nurseries, garden centers and other distribution channels.

Scotts Miracle-Gro primarily serves customers in the United States and Canada.