RBF Capital LLC Acquires New Holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

RBF Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 30,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,601,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Scientech Research LLC bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the second quarter valued at approximately $866,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 309.5% during the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 215,717 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,035,000 after purchasing an additional 163,037 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.2% during the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 672,556 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $43,756,000 after purchasing an additional 14,533 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 194.2% during the second 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 period. Finally, De Lisle Partners LLP bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the third quarter valued at approximately $10,162,000. Institutional investors own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on SMG shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a 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 for the company 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 report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.60.

Insider Transactions at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,553,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,045,499,556.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SMG opened at $75.95 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $82.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.32. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1 year low of $53.43 and a 1 year high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -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.