The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) Shares Bought by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Free Report) by 61.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,101 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,645 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Scotts Miracle-Gro were worth $2,436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,435,000. XTX Topco Ltd raised its stake in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 48.8% during the third 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 during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 68.3% in 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. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 1.1% during 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 buying an additional 15,869 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 229,255 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $19,877,000 after buying an additional 1,754 shares during the last quarter. 74.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SMG. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Six 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, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $77.50.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Performance

Shares of SMG stock traded down $0.53 on Wednesday, hitting $71.87. The stock had a trading volume of 105,170 shares, compared to its average volume of 805,006. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has a 52-week low of $53.43 and a 52-week high of $93.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -105.01 and a beta of 1.71. The stock's 50 day moving average is $80.40 and its 200-day moving average is $73.86.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Scotts Miracle-Gro's payout ratio is -382.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 28,000 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,553,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,028,866,984.34. This trade represents a 0.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Nathan Eric Baxter sold 11,359 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 51,631 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 have sold 58,227 shares of company stock worth $4,410,268. 26.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.