State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Has $1.87 Million Stock Holdings in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,116 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 688 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $1,865,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5.0% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,172,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $275,082,000 after purchasing an additional 151,354 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,432,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $124,203,000 after purchasing an additional 15,869 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 708,558 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $61,448,000 after buying an additional 14,730 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1,033.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 364,045 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,563,000 after buying an additional 331,925 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 8,330.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 281,485 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $24,405,000 after buying an additional 278,146 shares in the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 500 shares of the company’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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,045,499,556.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total value of $99,646.18. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $858,748.54. This trade represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 218,164 shares of company stock worth $15,789,544 in the last three months. 25.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Shares of SMG opened at $60.17 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.29. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a one year low of $58.41 and a one year high of $93.90. The company has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -125.35 and a beta of 1.74.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.23) by $0.34. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 51.48% and a negative net margin of 0.67%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($1.45) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -549.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on SMG. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group began 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 on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Scotts Miracle-Gro currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.83.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Profile

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.