Monarch Capital Management Inc. Has $1.35 Million Stock Position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Monarch Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,353 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 430 shares during the period. Monarch Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $1,350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 5,049 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,845 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 83.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 369 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 3,944 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 25.8% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 854 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 11,359 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $856,127.83. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 51,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,891,428.47. This represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.14, for a total value of $38,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,553,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,045,499,556.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 58,227 shares of company stock worth $4,410,268. 25.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Finally, 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. Six 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 a consensus target price of $75.83.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of SMG opened at $70.29 on Friday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52-week low of $53.43 and a 52-week high of $93.90. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $71.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.06.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio 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.