State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 19,085 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 40.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,308 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 19,085 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $1,842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth $417,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth $27,699,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth $83,000. Commerce Bank grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 121.3% during the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 19,281 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,229,000 after buying an additional 10,567 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 400.9% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 64,540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,162,000 after buying an additional 51,656 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 5.5 %

Shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $77.92 on Tuesday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a twelve month low of $43.67 and a twelve month high of $82.11. The stock has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.49 and a beta of 1.75. The company’s fifty day moving average is $70.47 and its 200 day moving average is $68.81.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 7.38% and a negative return on equity of 41.19%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s payout ratio is -42.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.00.

Insider Activity at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 960 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.95, for a total value of $74,832.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 22,940 shares in the company, valued at $1,788,173. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 85,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total transaction of $6,038,270.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,608,238 shares in the company, valued at $965,232,321.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 960 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.95, for a total transaction of $74,832.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 22,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,788,173. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 89,078 shares of company stock worth $6,325,042 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

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.