Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Purchases 59,200 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) by 151.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 98,300 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 59,200 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 0.17% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $6,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 4th quarter valued at about $417,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,699,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the fourth quarter worth $83,000. Commerce Bank boosted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 121.3% during the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 19,281 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 10,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 400.9% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 64,540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,162,000 after acquiring an additional 51,656 shares during the period. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on SMG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on 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 increased their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 2,988 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total value of $211,938.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,689,665.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Stephen L. Johnson sold 960 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.95, for a total transaction of $74,832.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 22,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,788,173. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 2,988 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total transaction of $211,938.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,689,665.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 89,078 shares of company stock valued at $6,325,042. Insiders own 26.46% of the company’s stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Price Performance

Scotts Miracle-Gro stock opened at $81.21 on Wednesday. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 1-year low of $43.67 and a 1-year high of $82.11. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $70.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.01 and a beta of 1.75.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.42. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative return on equity of 41.19% and a negative net margin of 7.38%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Scotts Miracle-Gro’s dividend payout ratio is currently -42.31%.

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.