The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Shares Bought by Treasurer of the State of North Carolina

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG – Get Rating) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,523 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 230 shares during the quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $851,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 98,971 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,170,000 after acquiring an additional 1,158 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 16.4% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,319 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $531,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC raised its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 33.2% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 3,397 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 846 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 27.8% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 6,684 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $822,000 after buying an additional 1,452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4,946.9% in the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,473 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 2,424 shares during the last quarter. 68.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James Hagedorn sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total value of $1,675,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 179,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,053,233. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 27.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $69.04 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 22.82, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $102.25.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 3rd. The basic materials company reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.58. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a positive return on equity of 81.02% and a negative net margin of 16.57%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 26th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 25th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.82%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is currently -23.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SMG. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 4th. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $92.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. Barclays cut shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $105.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $100.00 to $85.00 in a report on Thursday, May 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.29.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Profile

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Scotts Miracle-Gro Co engages in the manufacturing, marketing, and sale of products for lawn and garden care and indoor and hydroponic gardening. Its products and services include lawn care, gardening and landscape, hydroponic hardware and growing environments, lighting, controls, and marketing agreement.