KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $590,000 in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 8,900 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $590,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 53.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,880 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,117,000 after acquiring an additional 4,496 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 10,055 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $872,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 429.6% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 2,828 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 2,294 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 201.0% in the 3rd quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 14,793 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,283,000 after purchasing an additional 9,879 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1,033.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 331,925 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group cut their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $80.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, 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 price objective on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.33.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Trading Up 5.7 %

SMG stock opened at $57.91 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of -120.64 and a beta of 1.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $63.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.19. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1 year low of $53.37 and a 1 year high of $93.90.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.89) earnings per share (EPS) 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 last year, the firm earned ($1.45) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.56%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -550.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In related news, EVP Christopher Hagedorn sold 3,568 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.50, for a total value of $255,112.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,001,998. This represents a 5.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James Hagedorn sold 142,733 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.56, for a total value of $10,213,973.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 88,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,319,463.60. This represents a 61.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 159,937 shares of company stock valued at $11,379,275 in the last ninety days. 25.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.