Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 14,730 Shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 708,558 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 14,730 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 1.25% of Scotts Miracle-Gro worth $61,448,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 61.0% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 28,101 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,436,000 after buying an additional 10,645 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,435,000. XTX Topco Ltd increased its position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 29,736 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,578,000 after purchasing an additional 9,752 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 68.3% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 122,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $10,577,000 after purchasing an additional 49,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,432,565 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $124,203,000 after buying an additional 15,869 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SMG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group cut their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a "hold" rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $77.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 28,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.91, for a total value of $2,125,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,553,774 shares in the company, valued at $1,028,866,984.34. This represents a 0.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 11,359 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total value of $856,127.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 51,631 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,891,428.47. This represents a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 58,227 shares of company stock valued at $4,410,268. Corporate insiders own 26.46% of the company's stock.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

NYSE:SMG traded up $1.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $68.52. The company had a trading volume of 2,853,632 shares, compared to its average volume of 814,744. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a fifty-two week low of $53.43 and a fifty-two week high of $93.90. The firm has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -99.30 and a beta of 1.71. The business's fifty day moving average is $79.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.88.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is currently -382.61%.

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.